Chapter 1595: Life-Severing Golden Mark
Shenxu Daoren was also dead.
Huangtian Dragon Lord and Shenxu Daoren—these two were practically invincible beneath the Divine Sovereign realm, peak Divine Sovereigns who held lofty status in any upper star realm. Yet they had been crushed and slaughtered like rotten cabbage beneath Yun Che's sword, one after another.
And they died without a shred of Divine Sovereign dignity.
“It's... over.” Yun Ting collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, muttering in a daze.
The Thousand Wilds Divine Cult was the enforcer of the Burning Moon King Realm's sanctions against their “sinner clan,” and the Tiangang Cloud Clan's current desolation was thanks to the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult. Yet, ironically, the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult was precisely the one they could least afford to provoke.
Shenxu Daoren was a member of the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult, and moreover, its Chief Guardian. Within the Cult, his status ranked among the top five!
His death in the Tiangang Cloud Clan—even if not directly killed by the clan—would inevitably bring the Cult's wrath upon them.
Though their hopes were already slim, this calamity of clan annihilation now left absolutely no room for luck or hope.
The Yun Clan members behind Yun Ting all slumped as well, their faces marked only by ashen despair.
But none of them dared to curse Yun Che... they didn't even dare to look directly at him.
At a realm like Divine Sovereign, unless there was irreconcilable enmity, one would never fight to the death. Yet he—after a few harsh words—had sent his opponent straight to a place of no return, without even a burial ground.
In all their lives, they had never seen anyone so terrifying, so ruthless, so brutal.
The remaining members of Huangtian Demonic Dragon and Jiuyao Heavenly Palace retreated—slowly, silently, trembling step by step, shrinking back as if afraid that the slightest movement would provoke this terrifying madman who had crushed even a great figure like Shenxu Daoren without a second thought.
But at that moment, Yun Che suddenly froze in place.
His gaze fell to the ground. The residual crimson divine flame was silently burning the earth, and at the edge of the crimson flame, there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible layer of black light. Its aura was subtly different from the crimson flame he had fused with before arriving in the Northern Divine Region.
“...” His expression froze, and deep within his eyes, streaks of strange light flickered.
A wisp of pitch-black flame flashed through the depths of his soul sea.
Boom!!
At that moment, the ground exploded. Jiuyao Tianzun, covered in blood, burst forth from underground—not fleeing for his life, but lunging straight at Qianye Ying'er... more precisely, at Yun Shang beside her feet.
He could have emerged earlier, but terrified out of his wits by Yun Che, he had wisely chosen to stay hidden after the appearance of Shenxu Daoren stabilized the situation.
He had believed that once Shenxu Daoren announced the name of the Thousand Wilds Divine Cult, Yun Che, no matter how bold, would never dare to act recklessly again. But what he never dreamed in his wildest nightmares was that Yun Che would actually kill Shenxu Daoren!
Ten thousand “what the f*cks” couldn't describe Jiuyao Tianzun's state of mind.
Even the lofty Shenxu Daoren with his terrifying background had ended up begging like a dog, only to be crushed to death by Yun Che without any leeway. So what reason did he have to spare Jiuyao Tianzun?
In his fear, a sudden thought struck him: the first time he had laid eyes on Yun Che, he was holding an unconscious girl in his arms.
Yun Che was savage and ruthless, but in his first exchange with Huangtian Dragon Lord, he had defended with all his might, completely neutralizing the Dragon Lord's power before counterattacking—clearly afraid of harming the girl!
This thought was undoubtedly a glimmer of hope in the face of utter despair. Exploding forward at his fastest speed, he lunged at Yun Shang, intending to take this unconscious girl hostage—the only hope of escaping alive.
As for Qianye Ying'er beside Yun Shang, he completely ignored her!
As a peak Divine Sovereign, how could he possibly regard a woman exuding the aura of a Divine King?
The sudden commotion drew startled cries from all around. But it happened too abruptly, and Jiuyao Tianzun's speed was far too fast for the Yun Clan members to stop even if they wanted to.
As for Yun Che... he was still staring at the unextinguished crimson divine flame beneath his feet, utterly motionless, his thoughts unknown.
Qianye Ying'er moved. With a flick of her jade hand, she used profound force to lift Yun Shang and darted to the side. But her already flustered movements became especially labored under Jiuyao Tianzun's pressure. She had barely shifted when she began to wobble.
For a mere Divine King to try and take someone away from under his aura lock was nothing short of a fool's dream. With a low growl, he didn't even glance at Qianye Ying'er, his hand reaching out with a surge of profound force to snatch Yun Shang directly into his grip.
But the moment he struck, the scene before him blurred. Qianye Ying'er and Yun Shang instantly slipped free of his aura and spiritual perception, vanishing completely from his sight.
At the same time, a faint sound—like a light brush or a sharp tear—whispered at his ear.
Qianye Ying'er's figure appeared behind Jiuyao Tianzun with eerie suddenness. A golden ray, like a slender golden snake, coiled back around her waist—a waist so delicate it was breathtaking.
Yun Shang was flung far away, landing with a heavy thud, and with a soft moan of pain, she slowly stirred back to consciousness.
Jiuyao Tianzun's momentum continued forward. He tried to stop and turn, but his head and body suddenly became uncontrollable, and his vision grew dizzy... until it blurred into a sea of gray.
The last image in his sight was his own neatly severed body and the slender, dazzling golden mark at the cut.
Boom...
Jiuyao Tianzun's body broke cleanly into eight segments along seven golden marks, scattering across the ground, where they tumbled like rolling gourds in the chaotic wind stirred by the profound force.
Thud!
The Yun Clan members, who had just barely risen to their knees, instantly fell back to the ground.
Their mouths gaped wide, but their throats seemed clamped by something invisible, unable to produce a single sound.
Jiuyao Tianzun... dead... dead!?
An instant...
An instant so short that he couldn't even let out a death cry before it happened!
Yun Che looked up. His gaze fell on Qianye Ying'er, a dangerous cold gleam flashing deep in his eyes.
He knew Qianye Ying'er's full capabilities all too well.
With her current cultivation as a tenth-rank Divine Sovereign, if she were to fight Jiuyao Tianzun head-on, under the suppression of her Demon Emperor bloodline, she could indeed win—but with considerable difficulty.
Yet Jiuyao Tianzun had been shattered in an instant by Qianye Ying'er and killed in a flash.
The Inverse Abyss Stone's purpose was to alter auras, but she had used it to perfectly deceive her enemy.
Having once stood at the peak of the Divine Lord realm, her mastery of Divine Sovereign-level profound force was undoubtedly at its zenith. This might not be so obvious in a head-on battle, but when it came to instantaneous burst, it was far beyond what any same-level Divine Sovereign could match.
Add to that her soul-linked Brahma Golden Soft Sword, “Oracle”...
When all these elements combined perfectly, the same level of power created an instant kill in her hands.
This was the most terrifying thing about Qianye Ying'er!
And it was also the main reason he had deliberately suppressed her recovery, never allowing her to surpass him.
The moment Qianye Ying'er struck, her profound aura was exposed. Yun Ting muttered aloud: “Peak... Divine Sovereign...”
Yun Che's gaze shifted away from Qianye Ying'er and quickly landed on Yun Shang. With a flicker of movement, he teleported directly to her side, gently lifting her upper body and cradling it against his chest.
Yun Shang's eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes held teardrops as she looked up at Yun Che through a misty haze. “Senior... I... I...”
Her voice was as soft as gossamer, tears streaming down without pause. Having her profound force completely abolished in a single night, any profound practitioner would find such a blow unbearable—let alone a girl of only sixteen, who had been placed under such high expectations and hopes for the future.
“Shang'er... is awake.” Yun Ting watched from afar, muttering, still dazed and lost.
“Clan Chief,” the elders and clan members gathered around, their steps heavy, their faces ashen. “What should we do... what should we do...”
Yun Ting could not answer. He rose to his feet and dragged his unsteady steps toward Yun Che and Yun Shang... as he passed Qianye Ying'er, he felt a distinct chill run through his entire body.
“Shang'er,” Yun Ting lowered his head. He no longer looked like a clan chief, only a worn and gloomy old man. “It is... we who have wronged you...”
“Get... the hell... away!”
Yun Che's body did not move, but his robes billowed slightly.
Whoosh!!
A violent gust swept up, blasting Yun Ting and all the approaching Yun Clan members away. He didn't turn to look at them, nor did he pay any mind to the panicked flight of the Huangtian Demonic Dragon and Jiuyao Heavenly Palace members. His hand pressed down, tracing a strange pattern across Yun Shang's chest as he used the Life Miracle to continue healing her wounds.
Yun Shang's internal injuries had stabilized. Her shattered profound veins could also be restored by Yun Che with the Life Miracle. But her cultivation was completely ruined; she would have to start all over again from the Initial Xuan Realm... with no other recourse.
“Senior... you really... came back to save me...” Her voice was soft and faint, like a dream murmur.
“Don't speak,” Yun Che said in an equally soft voice. He touched his finger to Yun Shang's brow. “Sleep well. When you wake up... everything will be fine.”
“Can you... promise... one... capricious request?”
Yun Che: “...”
“Please... don't... hurt my clan...” She looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears as she begged. “They... didn't mean to...”
Her weak, soft voice carried on the cold wind into the ears of every Yun Clan member. Yun Ting, Yun Xiang, and all the elders hung their heads deeply, trembling all over, drowning in shame and regret.
The white light on Yun Che's finger, pressed to Yun Shang's brow, flickered faintly. Her eyes closed, her consciousness sank, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Their act of refining the Holy Cloud Ancient Pill for Yun Shang had been an extreme measure driven by the clan's circumstances. They had truly no intention of harming her—in fact, from the perspective of the clan's future, they were the ones who least wanted Yun Shang to be harmed.
That, Yun Che believed.
But what Yun Shang did not know was that after she was severely injured and fell unconscious, the first thing Yun Ting and the others did was not to strive with all their might to protect her life, but to choose to directly abandon her life in order to preserve and transfer her purple profound firmament.
What's more, under the Blood Transfer Forbidden Art, she would have died a most miserable death.
Lifting Yun Shang in his arms, Yun Che walked back to the room he had been staying in these past days. Qianye Ying'er followed behind him and closed the doors.
Silence descended. The Yun Clan members—whether standing, kneeling, or prostrate—all remained frozen in place, utterly lost for a long, long time.
...
An invisible barrier isolated all outside sounds. Even without it, not a single Yun Clan member dared to approach.
Several hours passed. At last, Yun Che's hand moved away from Yun Shang.
Yun Shang slept peacefully, her body enveloped in a sacred and dreamlike light profound radiance. Light profound force was normally the thing most feared by dark profound practitioners, but under Yun Che's hands, it only brought miraculous healing, with no harm at all.
Her internal injuries had healed, and her shattered profound veins had been reborn. But no one could predict or heal the wounds in her heart.
Qianye Ying'er, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally opened them. Her first words were cold mockery: “Being harmed like this by her own clan, yet the first thought upon regaining consciousness is to protect those who hurt her... how naive and laughable.”
“At least she can still be naive,” Yun Che said slowly. “But we don't even have the right to be naive.”
“...” Qianye Ying'er's breath caught. After a few seconds, she said, “When are you planning to leave? Don't tell me you want to stay again?”
“Now,” Yun Che said.
“Good.” Qianye Ying'er stepped forward and directly grabbed his wrist. “Let's go!”
Suddenly, she seemed to catch herself and flung his wrist away. “Hurry up and leave! If you knew you have no right to be naive, you shouldn't have stayed here from the start.”
“Hmph!” Yun Che snorted. With a wave of his arm, he dispelled the barrier.
Just as he was about to step forward, a young girl's soft murmur came from behind:
“Fa... ther...”
His feet stopped. Yun Che looked up, exhaled a long, quiet breath, and finally turned back to the bedside.
Though she had been unconscious for a long time, her sleep was restless; her lashes kept trembling. Yun Che reached out a finger and gently wiped a glistening tear from her tender cheek.
His finger, bearing the trace of tears, moved away from her face. At that moment, her eyes fluttered open.
“Se... nior.” She stared at Yun Che blankly, her starry eyes hazy, as if not fully awake from a dream.
“Yun Shang,” Yun Che said with a gentle smile. “I have to go.”
She was not Yun Wuxin, but she always reminded him of his own daughter.
He wanted to leave, to break free... yet he couldn't bear to.
But however much he couldn't bear it, he had to leave. Dreams were always false, and he had no right to indulge.
Unexpectedly, she did not grow agitated, frantic, or sad at his words. Only a new layer of mist gathered in her eyes. She said softly, “Senior, wherever you go, whatever you do in the future, please... be safe...”
“Mm,” Yun Che nodded. He looked into the girl's eyes and spoke in a gentle yet earnest tone: “Yun Shang, life is always filled with countless setbacks and darkness. The weak sink into it, but the strong can tear it apart and see the light again.”
Qianye Ying'er curled her lips, her expression full of disdain.
“Be a strong person,” Yun Che said. “If you've lost your profound force, you can cultivate again and become stronger than before. If you've lost your father... then make yourself more reliable than your father, so he can rest more at ease and with more comfort in heaven. Alright?”
“How childish,” Qianye Ying'er said, even more disdainfully.
“Alright.” Yun Shang's lips parted. Yun Che's comfort was clearly feeble, but she took it very seriously. Her tear-filled eyes stared unblinkingly at Yun Che. “I will listen to you, Senior. Having lost my father, as a daughter, I must be even stronger.”
“And a father who has lost his daughter must be even... even stronger, right?”
“...” Yun Che's whole body trembled. He looked into the girl's innocent eyes. The emotions that he had thought were dead, consumed by darkness, suddenly convulsed and shuddered violently.
He whirled his head, gritting his teeth, but his body's shaking would not stop... Finally, he turned his back abruptly. “Qian Ying... let's go!”
Yun Che fled almost like a fugitive, his steps and breath in utter chaos.
Qianye Ying'er followed behind him. Before leaving, she turned her head and glanced at Yun Shang... This time, her gaze was not entirely cold; there was a hint of complexity she herself did not notice.
“Senior...” Looking at the closed door, Yun Shang's reflection remained so vividly clear in her blurred vision. She murmured like a dream: “Don't forget our promise... when I grow up... and find you... I hope your smile... won't be so sad anymore...”