Chapter 333: Dragon Soul Domain
The white-haired elder who had previously shouted at Yun Che was jolted by Yun Che's sword strike, his wrist nearly dislocated. Though shocked inwardly, his expression remained unflustered as he said harshly, "Impressive indeed! No wonder even the Grand Elder died at your hands. But with the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation in play, no matter how you struggle, you are doomed to die today!"
The nine men advanced simultaneously, nine Burning Heaven Blades swirling into nine purple fire dragons, charging straight at Yun Che.
"The ones who will die are you!" Yun Che roared, remaining rooted to the spot as he furiously unleashed the power of his heavy sword. A strike of 'Overlord's Wrath' thundered down... This single sword strike was aimed at all nine men simultaneously!
Boom!!
Profound Force roared, purple flames soared to the heavens, and the surrounding area for dozens of zhang was leveled. Scattered corpses were blown far away like withered leaves in a gale.
The heavy sword's power attribute was inherently ferocious. Although Yun Che's strike clashed with nine people, those nine were formed from a full thirty Heaven Profound experts! To put it relatively, it was like one person facing thirty Heaven Profound experts head-on! Amid the roaring clash, all nine Burning Heaven Elders were thrown ten zhang away, while Yun Che's position didn't shift at all. However, a thin trail of blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth.
With this attack, he had sustained internal injuries. A combined strike from thirty Heaven Profound experts—in all of Cang Feng, who besides Yun Che could withstand it!?
Though internally wounded, Yun Che's eyes remained icy calm without a hint of panic. The Nine Profound Heavenly Formation was much more troublesome than he had imagined, but defeating him wouldn't be that easy either!
The nine men who had been thrown back all roared in unison and pressed forward again. They belonged to the same sect and all cultivated the same Burning Heaven Art. Under the formation, their Profound Force was synchronized, and each was perfectly aware of the others' movements, allowing flawless coordination in attack and mutual support. They took up nine positions, their Burning Heaven Blades aiming at Yun Che's vital points while simultaneously sealing off all his possible escape routes.
Boom! Bang! Clang! Whoosh... The heavy sword's roar was deafening. Every swing of Dragon Que brought about a calamitous boom, each time throwing the nine assailants back. But they immediately pressed in again, their searing purple flames merging into a wall, firmly trapping Yun Che within and progressively suppressing him.
As the number one miraculous formation in Burning Heaven Gate's millennia of history, the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation's power was extraordinary. Yun Che was clearly being driven into a disadvantage. Fen Duanhun and the other Burning Heaven disciples' expressions finally began to ease.
Pfft! Yun Che's left shoulder was struck again, the wound deep enough to show bone. Under the excruciating pain, Yun Che's ferocity exploded. Dragon Que, like an enraged evil dragon suddenly awakened, fiercely smashed toward the Burning Heaven Elder behind him who had landed the blow.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star... Die!!"
Boom!!
The five Burning Heaven Blades blocking Dragon Que were all shattered in an instant. Dragon Que, with incomparably violent force, smashed into that Burning Heaven Elder's chest, blasting a hole as large as a head through it. The elder let out a despairing scream, flew backward like a cannonball, and slammed violently into another Burning Heaven Elder behind him, shattering his sternum. The two stuck together and flew all the way to fifty zhang away.
"Elder Mo Wu! Elder Xing Hao!" Under the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation, another elder had fallen. Fen Duanhun's heart spasmed and bled. However, the formation was not significantly affected. After Yun Che killed one and injured another, two others quickly stepped forward to fill the positions, becoming new array cores. Heaven Profound experts outside the formation also quickly joined, maintaining the formation's thirty pivots.
"Heavenly Wolf Strike!!"
The nine men surrounded him again but were directly scattered by the shadow of a celestial wolf that Dragon Que swung out. The two who had just stepped up to fill the positions hadn't even had time to make their first slash before they were both cut in half by the Heavenly Wolf Strike.
"Wh...what!?" Fen Duanhun trembled all over, clearly on the verge of spitting blood.
The powerful Profound Skills derived from a true god allowed Yun Che to easily kill opponents even while being suppressed. However, both Falling Moon and Sinking Star and Heavenly Wolf Strike came with tremendous consumption. Each time he used one of these techniques, he was sure to kill at least one enemy instantly, but the enemy could immediately fill the gap and suppress him again... The power of the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation never diminished in the slightest, while each time he used a finishing move, his strength and momentum decreased by a fraction.
Yun Che was well aware of this. But even without using Profound Skills, every heavy sword strike was still terrifying. The nine men surrounding Yun Che might have held a slight advantage, but each of them was constantly trembling in fear... When Dragon Que in Yun Che's hand came swinging toward them, the heart-stopping terror it brought was worse than a nightmare.
With Dragon Que weighing over twenty thousand jin, Yun Che's mobility was severely hampered. Furthermore, his enemies could all use Mystic Void Crossing, while he could not, so he was unable to escape their coordinated entanglement. Wounds on his body began to multiply, crisscrossing his body with bloody gashes, but he never truly collapsed. Instead, the besiegers continued to fall one after another under his repeated outbursts.
Every time Yun Che used Falling Moon and Sinking Star or Heavenly Wolf Strike, at least one person died. And those who died were all Burning Heaven Gate elders and pavilion masters. Each death made Fen Duanhun's heart quiver. When the sixth one fell, his body swayed and he directly knelt to the ground... By now, including the Grand Elder, a total of fifteen Heaven Profound experts from Burning Heaven Gate had died at Yun Che's hands.
Fifteen!! Losing fifteen ordinary disciples, or even mid-level Earth Profound cultivators, would be insignificant for Burning Heaven Gate. But losing fifteen elders and pavilion masters was an extraordinarily heavy blow. Although Burning Heaven Gate ranked last among the four great sects, it had always been confident that its overall strength was not much inferior to the Ice Cloud Fairy Palace or the Xiao Sect. However, after losing fifteen Heaven Profound experts, Burning Heaven Gate had almost lost its qualification to stand on equal footing with the Ice Cloud Fairy Palace and the Xiao Sect.
Even if they successfully killed Yun Che today, this enormous loss would be irreparable. And all of this was because of one person—Yun Che!
Fen Duanhun gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning paper-white from clenching... He increasingly felt that repeatedly provoking Yun Che had brought Burning Heaven Gate its greatest nightmare in history! If he were given another chance, he would never have let Fen Juecheng accompany Fen Juebi to the Ranking Battle. When the council of elders insisted on assassinating Yun Che, he would have done everything to stop them.
But he had no such opportunity. And Yun Che's limits seemed far from reached. He had originally thought that with Yun Che's mere Earth Profound cultivation, his endurance must be weak, and with a heavy sword as his weapon, his consumption would be even faster. But unexpectedly, even though Yun Che was now covered in wounds, his heavy sword's power was still exceedingly fierce. The nine surrounding him might have the upper hand, but they could never fully suppress him.
The Juechen Heavenly Pavilion was situated at the highest point of Burning Heaven Gate. Looking down from above, the entire sect was visible at a glance. Xiao Lingxi stood by the window, clearly seeing everything happening below... From the moment Yun Che appeared, her gaze was firmly fixed on him, unable to look away... Watching him roar in fury, watching him swing his heavy sword, causing the mighty Burning Heaven Gate to flow with rivers of blood...
"Little Che... Little Che..." Xiao Lingxi pressed her hand tightly over her lips, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with a hazy, dreamlike light... That was his voice, and she could even faintly make out his appearance... But she couldn't believe that this was truly the same Little Che who had grown up with her, who had always needed her care and protection...
"Haah!"
"Burning Star Demon Lotus!!"
Yun Che roared loudly. A fire lotus exploded from his body, sweeping outward with towering heat.
"Hold it back!!"
The moment the Phoenix Demon Lotus bloomed, a wave of heat so terrifying it exceeded their imagination rushed toward them. The nine men roared and charged forward simultaneously, frantically channeling their Profound Force to meet the spreading crimson petals.
The Burning Star Demon Lotus's blooming speed suddenly slowed. Under nine powerful resisting forces, it began to tremble irregularly, and eventually, it slowly stopped blooming altogether. After a full ten-plus breaths of stalemate, the fire lotus suddenly burst open, scattering crushed petals everywhere. All nine men were sent flying by the heat wave. Most of their clothes and hair were scorched, their faces blackened, and their hands severely burned—a miserable sight.
In contrast, Yun Che, having released the Burning Star Demon Lotus, was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong sense of weakness. His body went slack, and he fell to one knee, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his forehead like a spring, and his body was covered in bloodstains.
Yun Che was clearly exhausted. Yet to have resisted the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation to such an extent and killed six elders was already a terrifying miracle—a nightmare that would be etched into Burning Heaven Gate's memory for generations. One could imagine that without the Nine Profound Heavenly Formation, even if all their Heaven Profound experts had swarmed him, they might have all perished at his hands.
"Yun Che! At death's door, let's see you keep up your arrogance!" Fen Moji clutched his chest, pointing at Yun Che as he roared. Though his voice was harsh, anyone could hear the tremor in it.
Yun Che raised his head, gripping his heavy sword, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He said in a low voice, "If... all these people die... then your Burning Heaven Gate... will be finished, won't it?"
Yun Che's cold smile was as sinister as a demon's, and his words were like the most venomous curse, causing even the dignified second elder of Burning Heaven Gate to shudder involuntarily. His face muscles twitched as he pointed at Yun Che and roared with all his might: "You still dare to be so arrogant and shameless... All elders and pavilion masters, he is at the end of his rope! Kill him quickly, avenge the clansmen who died by his hand!"
"Evil beast, accept death!!"
The nine injured by the Burning Star Demon Lotus all withdrew, while another nine advanced simultaneously, their Burning Heaven Blades thrusting toward nine vital points on Yun Che... Every strike was a killing blow! They were determined to put this terrifying Yun Che to death immediately.
At this moment, Yun Che grasped Dragon Que and suddenly stood up. A strange azure light burst forth from his eyes, and behind him, an azure dragon image suddenly materialized.
"Dra...gon... Soul... Domain!!"
Roar!!!!
A majestic and imperious dragon's roar came from the heavens, shaking souls and spreading across the universe. Three feet above Yun Che's head, a pair of azure eyes suddenly opened—as deep as the sky, as dazzling as stars.