Chapter 1839: Blood and Sorrow
As Shui Meiyin's voice fell, Yun Che, who had been sitting beside her, did not jump up in excitement. Instead, he froze in place.
He turned his head slowly, his neck feeling incredibly stiff, his movements particularly rigid: "The master you speak of… who is it?"
"Master Xuanyin." Shui Meiyin looked into his eyes, answering seriously and solemnly.
Yun Che's eyes shook violently, his heart feeling as if it had been struck hard. Pressing his hand to his chest to calm his wildly beating heart, he murmured in a daze, "No, impossible… she has already… already…"
When the "Lan Ji Star" was destroyed, at least he hadn't witnessed the passing of his family and loved ones with his own eyes.
But Mu Xuanyin—she had faded away in his arms. He had personally sensed her last breath leave her, and with his own hands, he had sunk her into the Minghan Heavenly Lake.
How could she possibly…
Shui Meiyin hugged Yun Che's arm and said in a very soft voice, "I know how important Master Xuanyin is to Brother Yun Che. That's why I would never make a joke about something like this."
"…" Yun Che stared at her blankly, his vision blurring.
"Master Xuanyin is still alive—this is not my speculation, nor something I heard from others, but…" She paused slightly, her gaze dropping: "I saw it with my own eyes."
"!!" Yun Che's heart nearly leaped out of his chest, yet his body felt numb, frozen still.
"Her appearance, as well as her unique Ice Phoenix aura—I absolutely could not be mistaken." Shui Meiyin said. "Moreover, her Ice Phoenix profound energy and her soul aura were vastly stronger than back then… It was as if she had been reborn entirely."
"I almost got discovered by her. If it weren't for the Cosmic Thorn I had on me, she would have definitely caught me."
"And to confirm her identity, I went specifically to the Yin Xue Realm and infiltrated the Minghan Heavenly Lake. Although my physical body couldn't reach the deepest parts, my spiritual sense could envelop the entire lake, and I couldn't perceive any trace of her remains there."
"That must surely be Master Xuanyin. And the reason she has been hiding in the shadows without meeting you should be the same concern I had—fear of distracting you from your resolve for revenge."
Yun Che remained stunned. He desperately wanted to believe, and Shui Meiyin couldn't possibly be lying to him about this, but…
"But she was clearly… clearly in my arms…" he muttered faintly, as if lost.
"Sometimes, what you see with your own eyes and feel with your own senses is not necessarily the final outcome." Shui Meiyin looked at him, her starry eyes trembling: "Back then, Brother Yun Che's body and soul perished in the Xing Shen Realm, witnessed by all the Star Gods… yet in the end, you appeared perfectly whole in my life."
Yun Che's heart was shaken violently. He suddenly stood up.
Wait!
That time I was reborn because of the Nirvana Force bestowed by the Phoenix Soul.
Phoenix… Ice Phoenix…
The resident Ice Phoenix soul…
Compensation…
Could it be that the Ice Phoenix God, like the Phoenix God, also possesses Nirvana Force!?
The Ice Phoenix God in the Minghan Heavenly Lake was not a soul fragment, but a true ancient Ice Phoenix. What resided in Mu Xuanyin was naturally its original soul.
Back then, at the bottom of the Minghan Heavenly Lake, after the Ice Phoenix God had told him the truth, he sensed a profound guilt from it… And after bidding farewell, the Ice Phoenix God, which clearly still had some divine power left and could have continued to exist for a long time, dissipated.
If the Ice Phoenix, like the Phoenix, also had Nirvana Force…
If the Ice Phoenix God's premature dissipation was to give its final source power to Mu Xuanyin as compensation for her…
Then… then…
The bewilderment and disbelief in his heart quickly turned into a blazing flame of excitement. Yun Che's breathing became rapid, and then, thinking of something, he fumbled and took out that Nanming Divine Pearl.
"There's no mistake… it's her… it's her…" Yun Che held it tightly in both hands, the corners of his mouth twitching and then widening, his eyes quickly becoming misty with tears: "I should have thought of it… I should have thought of it…"
Throwing the Nanming Divine Pearl from afar, yet having it vanish from his spiritual sense in an instant… The only one capable of that was Mu Xuanyin!
Only her!!
The Nirvana Force he had received back then was bestowed by the Phoenix's soul fragment. Although it gave him rebirth, it left everything outside his life in slumber, turning him into a cripple.
But what Mu Xuanyin had… was the source soul and source power of the Ice Phoenix God! After nirvana, it would instead make her even stronger.
That's it, that must be it!
She didn't die… his master, his Xuanyin, was still alive!
And she had long been watching him from afar, helping him.
Yun Che gently placed the Nanming Divine Pearl over his heart and held it there for a long time without letting go.
————
The Canglan Divine Realm convulsed every moment as if drawing countless heavenly thunders and earthly fires.
Sss! Sss! Sss!!
At the eastern edge of the battlefield, Divine Sovereigns from the Northern Domain and Canglan were activating various offensive profound artifacts. And that terrifyingly piercing sound came from the Ten Directions Canglan Realm's giant crystal crossbows.
Although in terms of raw power, the giant crystal crossbows were far inferior to the Nanming Divine Realm's Abyss God Cannons, as a defensive weapon of a king realm, their power was naturally not ordinary. Each crystal bolt shot would split space and then pierce through at least one Lord Dragon's body.
Before them, the Primordial Dragon Clan had erected a massive defensive line.
However, the Dragon God Clan's Lord Dragons were simply too numerous, and their level surpassed the Primordial Dragon Clan. Even with the desperate defense of several Northern Domain upper-level Realm Kings, the defense line still broke open in several gaps within less than half an incense stick's time.
A large number of Lord Dragons charged straight to the rear, and under their dragon tails and claws, they brought up large swaths of blood light and screams.
One Dark Profound Array after another, which had been prepared for a long time, was activated, trapping and injuring dozens of Lord Dragons… But the Dragon God Clan's bodies were far too powerful. More than half broke free after just a few breaths. The seemingly terrible injuries did not diminish much of their dragon might, and with furious roars, they unleashed catastrophic power.
Before the Lord Dragons, Divine Sovereigns were far too insignificant.
Broken arms and severed heads of Northern Domain profound practitioners flew into the sky, and the collapsing Canglan Divine Realm was quickly stained with dark red blood exuding darkness aura.
"Damn… it!" Tian Guhu's eyes were wide and cracking. Among those Divine Sovereigns were the young profound practitioners who shared his ranking on the "Northern Domain Heavenly Sovereign List." They had been spurred on by him; they shone with the brightest light of the youngest generation, the future of the Northern Divine Region… and now, one by one, group by group, they were falling under dragon claws.
"Ah!!"
But he was being completely suppressed by two rank eight Divine Lord Flood Dragons, unable to escape. All he could do was let out blood-soaked roars. The dark aura on his body and sword became even more ferocious and frenzied, wishing he could pierce their hearts with every thrust and fight for his life with every move.
At the center of the battlefield, two massive dragons clashed violently.
Against the Primordial Dragon Emperor, the Cang Dragon God had also revealed his true form. But the suppression of race and bloodline still could not fully bridge the gap in strength between him and the Primordial Dragon Emperor.
"Our Dragon God Clan has always considered you an ancient clan from the outer world, never harming you even slightly. Why do you aid the demons?!" the Cang Dragon God growled.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One Dragon God, one Dragon Emperor. Every collision of their dragon bodies nearly shook heaven and earth apart.
"Each obeys his own destiny. There is no need for further words!"
ROAR!!!
A furious roar shook all directions. Under this primordial-like colossal force, the Cang Dragon God's dragon aura scattered, his massive body plummeting straight down, carving a ten-thousand-zhang chasm into the ground.
In an instant, he rose with a roar, but… he did not charge back at the Primordial Dragon Emperor. Instead, that thousand-zhang dragon tail gathered Dragon God Force and, following the Star God aura, slammed heavily toward the Tianxuan Star God behind him.
Tianxuan Star God was fighting alone against two Dragon Lords and had already been forced back dozens of li. A terrifying pressure from behind struck her. Her heart was terrified, and she desperately broke free from the two Dragon Lords' hold, but she had no strength left to defend against or evade the Cang Dragon God's force.
BOOM!
The Dragon God's tail struck Tianxuan Star God square in the back. Her body bent, and a jet of blood shot from her mouth hundreds of zhang away. The light in her pupils instantly scattered.
The claws of the two Dragon Lords also struck at that moment, aiming straight for her heart.
"Sister!!"
Tianyao Star God cried out in alarm, forcing himself to turn.
BANG!
A dragon claw heavily slammed into his back, tearing open several bloody gashes. His face turned pale, but he instead used the momentum to dive straight toward the falling Tianxuan Star God… In his tightly contracted pupils, his speed surpassed the limit of his life.
Finally, in the very last instant, he threw himself onto Tianxuan Star God's back, covering her with every shred of power he had.
BOOM!!!!
The combined force of the two Dragon Lords struck his back. With a cruel snap, his spine was directly shattered.
Blood gushed from Tianyao Star God's mouth… And immediately, the two Dragon Lords who had been fighting him earlier caught up, and two more rank eight Divine Lord-level forces crashed into his already heavily broken back…
And extinguished the last light in his eyes.
ROAR!!
With a roar, the Primordial Dragon Emperor swept in with fury, sending the four Dragon Lords flying far away. At that moment, the Cang Dragon God also pounced fiercely, and the two great dragons once again engaged in a world-shaking, earth-shattering battle.
Tianxuan Star God's consciousness recovered quickly. She flipped over and tightly hugged Tianyao Star God… In an instant, her hands were stained red with blood. That rapidly fading aura, now thin and weak, made her fingers tremble wildly.
"Sis… ter…"
Tianyao Star God's lips parted, letting out his last words, and in his final sight, his sister's face was reflected. Then he closed his eyes peacefully.
To die in his sister's arms—to him, that was perhaps the greatest comfort.
Drip, drip… Thick blood continued to flow from his body, spilling onto Tianxuan Star God's form and the churning earth.
"Qiang… Wei…" Tianxuan Star God slowly raised her head, and two streaks of blood slowly slid down from her eyes.
WHOOSH!
A gale howled, whipping her blood-stained hair. The four Dragon Lords were already charging again.
"Qiang Wei," she whispered softly, "in the next life, I will still be your sister… but I will be the one… to protect you…"
Holding Tianyao Star God tight, she closed her eyes, leaned forward, and charged straight at the four Dragon Lords. A dazzling white starlight suddenly burst from her body. As the starlight grew denser, her speed also increased.
From afar, it looked like a brilliant star falling through the void.
The four Star Gods—Tianyang, Tianyan, Tianhun, and Tianmei—suddenly sensed something. All turned their heads violently, letting out heart-rending cries: "Zi Wan… no!"
"…!!" Cai Zhi also turned her head at that moment, her teeth clenching tightly.
That was… Star Ember.
PUFF – BOOM!!
The star fell, releasing endless starlight, illuminating the heavens in a sheet of white.
From the center of the starlight came four overlapping screams. Three Dragon Lords flew back, spraying blood. And the Dragon Lord directly struck by the starlight… his once formidably powerful dragon body was now missing its head and chest, with only a fragmented lower half plummeting downward.
And the Star God bodies of Zi Wan and Qiang Wei disintegrated in the starlight, merging into the starlight that covered the sky.
This brutal battle had finally begun to see fall at the Star God level.
Cai Zhi's hands clenched tightly, and a fierce violence churned in her eyes.
Among the Twelve Star Gods, the ones she was closest to, besides her sister, were Zi Wan and Qiang Wei.
An important reason she had appeared to stop the six Star Gods from going to rescue the Zhou Tian God Realm was precisely because of Ziyuan, the sister pair—Zi Wan and Qiang Wei.
Now, the once glorious Twelve Star Gods had withered down to only the last five.