Chapter 328: Fury of Fen Tian (2)
"Ah!!"
Yun Che roared, flinging Xiao Yunhai far away. Xiao Yunhai hit the ground headfirst, blood splattering everywhere, and fell unconscious on the spot. Meanwhile, Yun Che charged toward the back mountain like a madman.
He had returned carrying a multitude of emotions: urgency, longing, excitement, joy... and many more. At the moment he set foot in Liuyun City, these emotions churned like turbulent waves, and among them, joy occupied the largest part.
Because he was about to see his grandfather and little aunt, whom he had been apart from for three years.
He was about to take them away from the three years of suffering they had endured...
Let them see him as he was now, tell them of his growth, and let them no longer worry about him, but instead be gratified and proud.
Soon, he would fulfill the promise he made to his grandfather and little aunt when he left.
Soon, he would collect all the debts the Xiao Sect owed them, and let his grandfather and little aunt vent all the grievances and anger they had held.
But he never expected to receive such a thunderbolt.
Yun Che rushed like a gale-force wind into the back mountain, into the Thought-Refining Gorge, and arrived at the place where Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi had been confined for three years.
Mountains, withered grass, stone chambers, clear springs... It was so simple here, so quiet, and so desolate. Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi had been confined here, not allowed to leave even half a step. Standing in front of the stone chamber, Yun Che stopped, and for a moment dared not move forward... He did not want to believe what he had heard was true. He would rather believe that what the people of the Xiao Sect said were fabricated lies... Even if they said they had hallucinations, he would choose to believe!
He had returned with a full three years of accumulated longing, worry, and concern. He simply could not accept that this would be the result.
"Grandfather... Grandfather!"
"Little Aunt... are you in there?"
"It's Xiao Che... I'm back! Grandfather, Little Aunt, do you hear me? If you can hear me, come out and see me!"
He called out repeatedly, his voice trembling slightly. His voice drifted far away with the mountain wind, but there was no response.
The last shred of hope burst like a soap bubble. Yun Che held his breath and began to move forward. But the moment he took one step, his entire body suddenly froze... Where his sight landed, at the entrance of the stone chamber, he saw a patch of dark red bloodstain.
Yun Che's heart convulsed violently. He charged over like a whirlwind, falling to his knees before the bloodstain... The blood had already dried, but there was only a very thin layer of dust on top. In this place where the mountain wind constantly blew, this thin layer of dust proved that the bloodstain had not been there long—only about three or four days.
Not far from the bloodstain, Yun Che saw two broken sword fragments. They were covered in rust.
Apart from that, there were no signs of a struggle... With the strength of the Fen Tian Gate, how could Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi have had the ability to resist or fight back!
Yun Che propped himself up with his hands on the ground, his ten fingers deeply embedded into the rock. He lowered his head, his entire body trembling, his clenched teeth making a "grinding" sound. A rage and hatred so intense it almost materialized filled the entire stone chamber, causing the air to completely stop moving under the suffocating pressure.
"Fen Tian Gate... Fen Tian Gate... Fen Tian Gate..."
From Yun Che's mouth came low murmurs, as deep and dark as the death-knell notes of a demon from hell.
He remembered the person that Sikong Du had mentioned to him in New Moon City...
The third son of Fen Duanhun—Fen Juechen!!
Sikong Du had not been mistaken; it was indeed Fen Juechen! The reason he appeared in New Moon City was only as a pass-through... His target had actually been here!
His grudge with the Fen Tian Gate had been sown two years ago. Fen Juecheng had tried to harm him but instead caused Fen Juebi's death... Fen Juecheng had attempted to marry Cang Yue, but Yun Che disrupted the wedding and seriously wounded him, causing the Fen Tian Gate to lose all face. Afterwards, they even sent eight Heavenly Xuan experts led by Fen Mori to assassinate him!!
He killed seven and left one... That last one was his warning to the Fen Tian Gate, a token of face and leeway, and even a hint of compromise. Because the Fen Tian Gate was a millennium-old sect with enormous strength; unless absolutely necessary, he was not so willing to become irreconcilable mortal enemies with them.
But he had never expected that the Fen Tian Gate would respond to him in such a manner!
Even if his enmity with the Fen Tian Gate were ten times greater, what did it have to do with Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi!?
"Ah!!!!"
Yun Che let out a hoarse roar, punched the ground, and blasted a huge pit several zhang wide. Then he shot straight up, leaped onto the Snow Phoenix Beast, and sped away with sky-piercing murderous aura.
"You old dogs of the Xiao Sect... It's all because of you... All because of you!! If my grandfather and little aunt really have something happen to them... I will make your entire sect... buried with them!!!"
Above the Xiao Sect, a voice of resentment as if from hell echoed. They looked up in terror at the huge white beast soaring into the sky, and all collapsed on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Even after the white beast disappeared from sight, they still could not stand for a long time.
Facing the wind, the cold air calmed his mind somewhat, but his chest and mind were still so filled with rage that they almost exploded. Gritting his teeth, he took out a sound transmission jade and a thousand-mile sound transmission talisman, and sent a hoarse voice transmission to Sikong Du: "Senior Brother Sikong... tell me the location of the Fen Tian Gate."
"... What happened?"
"Hurry and tell me the location of the Fen Tian Gate!" Yun Che roared in his transmission.
"... Six thousand li southwest of New Moon City, reach a place called 'Crimson Fire Region,' then ask for a place called 'Fen Tian Valley.' The Fen Tian Gate is inside Fen Tian Valley. Be careful!"
Yun Che put away the sound transmission jade. His eyes, filled with endless hatred, locked onto the southwest direction. The Snow Phoenix Beast beneath him seemed to sense its master's emotions and pushed its flying speed to the extreme, leaving a long white trail as it quickly disappeared into the distant horizon.
Liuyun City was far from the Crimson Fire Region where the Fen Tian Gate was located. Even with the Fen Tian Gate's impressive mystical beast mounts, the round trip would take nearly ten days. But how could their mounts compare to Yun Che's Snow Phoenix Beast? Moreover, while the former traveled at normal speed, the latter went at full speed. By the time Fen Juechen returned to the Fen Tian Gate, Yun Che was less than a hundred li from the Crimson Fire Region.
In the middle of the group was a young girl of about seventeen or eighteen, her face full of fear. Beside her was a man in his fifties or sixties, with a resolute and angry face. From his slightly pale complexion, he seemed to have suffered a not-insignificant internal injury.
These two people were none other than Xiao Lingxi and Xiao Lie!
Arriving before the main gate of the Fen Tian Gate, everyone dismounted from their mounts. The young girl clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "We have no grievances or enmity with you. What exactly do you want to do?"
An old man walked up to the girl and pushed her with one hand: "Less nonsense, move!"
Xiao Lie took a step forward to block Xiao Lingxi, but was pushed to the ground by the old man.
"Father!" Xiao Lingxi cried out sorrowfully, quickly helping Xiao Lie up. Xiao Lie clutched his chest, coughing violently, his face becoming even paler.
"Stop!" Fen Juechen suddenly turned around and spoke coldly: "Who told you to touch them? Whether they deserve to die or live is not for you to decide. If you lay a hand on them again, I'll chop off your hand!"
That old man had been about to curse Xiao Lie with a sneer, but upon hearing Fen Juechen's words, his whole body stiffened. He quickly nodded in acknowledgment and stepped back in panic.
"Take this Xiao Lie and lock him in the lowest level of the Prison Dragon Dungeon. As for this girl..." Fen Juechen did not look at Xiao Lingxi, but his eyes flickered abnormally: "Take her to my residence, the Juechen Heavenly Pavilion, and have the two maids, Zi and Lan, keep a close watch on her."
"Yes!"
Fen Tian Gate, Juecheng Pavilion.
Fen Juecheng's entire left hand was wrapped tightly, and his right arm hung limply... Although the Fen Tian Gate had countless miraculous medicines and Fen Juecheng's profound strength was not weak, Yun Che had been too ruthless that day. Even after more than ten days, Fen Juecheng's injuries had not healed properly. During these days, the physical pain and the endless humiliation in his heart had all turned into an increasingly intense hatred for Yun Che.
The door of the Juecheng Pavilion was kicked open with force, and Fen Duanhun walked in with an angry expression. Facing the obviously furious Fen Duanhun, Fen Juecheng was not at all surprised or flustered. He straightened up and asked knowingly, "Father, who made you so angry?"
"It was you who sent Chen to faraway Liuyun City to bring back those two people?" Fen Duanhun said angrily.
"Yes!" Fen Juecheng admitted directly.
"Nonsense! How could you not discuss this with me!"
"Because if I discussed it with you, you would definitely not agree!" Fen Juecheng said fearlessly.
"Bastard!" Fen Duanhun slapped the table, smashing the jade long table beside him into pieces: "Do you know what you are doing? Yun Che is a person who must not be touched right now! The Grand Elder, Fen Duancang, Fen Moran... one half-step King Xuan, seven Heavenly Xuan, all suffered a crushing defeat at his hands. The only one who escaped, Fen Moping, was deliberately released by him as a warning to our Fen Tian Gate, and also a bit of leeway. According to Fen Moping, Yun Che's current strength is almost comparable to your grandfather's! With a figure like that, if we can be friends, we should be friends as much as possible; if we cannot be friends, we absolutely must not provoke him. But you..."
"So, Father, you want to swallow this?" Fen Juecheng stood up abruptly, glaring at Fen Duanhun, his eyes filled with extreme hatred: "He killed my second brother—also your own son! He disrupted my wedding, caused me and the entire Fen Tian Gate to be utterly disgraced, and become a laughingstock for the world! He also killed the Grand Elder, and seven other elders and pavilion masters from our sect! Such a great enmity is irreconcilable! Not only I, but many elders and pavilion masters wish they could cut Yun Che into pieces! But you, Father, chose to endure for the time at the sect meeting... How can we endure! In the thousand years of our Fen Tian Gate's history, when have we been bullied to this extent? Who would dare to kill our young sect master and so many elders and pavilion masters? When has our Fen Tian Gate ever been so weak and cowardly as to fear a brat with no background!"
"Enough!" Fen Duanhun waved his hand: "I haven't forgotten what you said. I never said I would let Yun Che off. It's just that Yun Che's current strength is too astonishing. We must deal with him carefully and absolutely not act rashly! He released Fen Moping back to us, signaling that he won't completely break with us for now. That gives us time to observe and plan carefully. But you, without saying a word, had Chen kidnap two of his relatives!"
"Yun Che is a person who values relationships and loyalty. To save Xia Yuanba, who was only at the Initial Xuan realm, he was willing to risk his life. What you've done is to touch his reverse scale! And if this matter gets out, our Fen Tian Gate will be branded as despicable and shameless, and our reputation will be ruined forever."
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