Chapter 337: Supreme Sect Master: Fen Yijue
With the swing of Yun Che’s arm, the purple sea of fire born from the Heaven Fire Star-Forming Array suddenly poured forward like an erupting volcano. In that instant, every member of Fen Tian Gate was struck silent by extreme terror, as if they were facing the arrival of the apocalypse.
“You beast, how dare you!”
Just then, a thunderous roar of fury rang out like a clap of thunder, causing everyone’s eardrums to buzz. Yun Che sharply turned his gaze forward... What met his eyes were two middle-aged men in red robes, their bodies wreathed in purple flames, who appeared to be in their forties or fifties. They flew toward him with the speed of lightning, arriving before the cascading sea of fire in an instant. They simultaneously extended their arms and, with a furious roar, pushed together against the Fen Tian sea of fire.
*Boom~*
A deeply muffled sound erupted. The cascading purple sea of fire was forcibly halted by two immense, unmatched forces. Then, its direction suddenly reversed, being violently thrust eastward before the eyes of countless widened pupils, landing hundreds of zhang away.
*Boom!!!*
With a thunderous explosion, a blaze of purple fire soared into the sky. Even a hundred li away, one could see a patch of purple flames that scorched the heavens red. The fire spread wildly, instantly devouring everything around it. The majestic main gate of Fen Tian Gate, which had stood for a thousand years, was reduced to ashes in an instant. Nearly a tenth of the entire sect was completely submerged in the sea of fire. However, since the eruption occurred at the sect’s edge, these rampaging Fen Tian flames, though causing great damage to Fen Tian Gate, did not burn anyone. The consequences were vastly different from where Yun Che had originally struck.
The two middle-aged men who had pushed away the sea of fire landed simultaneously, their eyes and auras locking firmly onto Yun Che.
“Supreme Sect Master! Supreme Elder!”
None of the younger Fen Tian disciples recognized these two men. But the elders and hall masters present all cried out in extreme joy. Some even fell to their knees on the spot, weeping with elation.
“One is at the King Xuan Realm Level 2, the other at King Xuan Realm Level 4... In your current state, you are no match for them. Leave now!” Mo Li urged urgently.
Yun Che’s brow furrowed deeply. At that moment, the middle-aged man on the left shot into the air, his entire right arm transforming into a ferocious purple fire dragon aimed straight at Yun Che’s chest.
Yun Che’s face darkened. He grabbed Xiao Lingxi, and with all his profound force erupting, a shadow of a Celestial Wolf appeared behind him, roaring toward the sky...
“Heavenly Wolf Strike!”
*Boom!!!!*
The Shadow of the Celestial Wolf clashed midair with the Fen Tian Fire Dragon, producing a roar like divine thunder from the nine heavens. A burst of purple flames exploded in the sky, scattering over a dozen zhang away. The violent shockwave knocked down a large number of Fen Tian disciples who were dozens of zhang away.
Amidst the flames, Yun Che coughed up a mist of blood and flew backward like a cannonball, plunging into the purple sea of fire a hundred zhang away... But immediately, a snow-white great bird arose from the sea of fire with a flap of its wings, rapidly turning into a white dot on the horizon.
The red-robed middle-aged man slowly descended. When he landed, his body swayed slightly, and an unnatural flush appeared on his face. His expression became extremely solemn.
“After him! Don’t let him escape!” Fen Moji shouted loudly, pointing in the direction Yun Che had fled.
“Don’t pursue him!” The middle-aged man at the front raised his hand. His voice was gentle, yet so authoritative that it almost made people’s blood freeze. “He is not seriously injured. If you go after him, you will only be delivering yourselves to death.”
As he finished speaking, his body suddenly swayed. He quickly pressed a hand to his chest, and a dry groan escaped his lips.
“Supreme Sect Master, what’s wrong?” Fen Moji asked in alarm.
“What astonishing power,” the middle-aged man muttered, gazing into the distance. “After more than twenty years of secluded cultivation, I never thought the Cang Feng Empire would produce such a figure.”
“Judging by his age, he can’t be more than twenty. It seems that something major has happened in Cang Feng over the years,” said the other red-robed middle-aged man as he slowly walked over, his expression equally grave. Neither of them chose to pursue Yun Che. Pushing away that terrifying flame energy earlier had been no easy task, even for them, who were at the King Xuan Realm. They had exerted their full strength without holding back, yet they still hadn’t managed to push the flames outside the sect. After that all-out push, their blood and qi were still surging, and had yet to settle. They recognized the white snow bird—it was clearly the Snow Phoenix Beast, the sovereign beast of the Ice Extreme Snow Domain. Even they would find it difficult to match the Snow Phoenix Beast in speed.
These two middle-aged men: one was the previous sect master of Fen Tian Gate, now the Supreme Sect Master Fen Yijue, and the other was the Supreme Elder Fen Ziya. Though they looked young, they were both over a hundred years old. They had long ceased to involve themselves in sect affairs, retreating to a secret place within the sect to cultivate in seclusion. Today, however, they were both awakened by the commotion within the sect.
Seeing the blood, scattered corpses, and devastation everywhere, Fen Yijue, though usually calm as still water, could not contain his fury. He said in a low voice, “Duanhun, what exactly happened? Who is that young man? You’ve really become quite impressive—our Fen Tian Gate, a thousand-year-old sect, nearly fell to a single youth!”
Fen Duanhun, though the current sect master of Fen Tian Gate, still felt the lingering authority of his father. Coupled with his own guilt, he sighed deeply and began to recount the whole story.
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The Snow Phoenix Beast flew eastward. After traveling a great distance, it suddenly let out a mournful cry. Its wings, unable to flap any longer, drooped down, carrying Yun Che and Xiao Lingxi into a desolate valley on the edge of Fen Tian Valley.
*Bang!!*
Yun Che tumbled from the Snow Phoenix Beast’s back, rolling several times on the ground with Xiao Lingxi in his arms before crashing into a cliff wall. He struggled to sit up. Beside him, the Snow Phoenix Beast’s head hung low, its body trembling weakly, and even its cries had turned into feeble whimpers.
It had traveled a full six thousand li at top speed, already reaching its limit. Then it had fought alongside Yun Che, and now had fled with him at full speed. The Snow Phoenix Beast had severely overdrawn its strength and life force. Yun Che walked over, gently stroked its snow-white feathers, and said with a pained heart, “Xiao Chan, you’ve worked hard... Go back and rest well.”
The Snow Phoenix Beast let out a low cry, then turned into a streak of white light, returning to the mystic seal.
Xiao Lingxi had still not awakened. Under the protection of Yun Che, who had diverted more than half of his power, she had not been harmed at all, even during the brief clash with Fen Yijue. Yun Che himself, however, had suffered quite severe internal injuries. He held Xiao Lingxi without letting go. After taking several deep breaths, he began to survey the surrounding terrain.
This place was barren, with dry soil and sparse vegetation. There was no trace of footprints. As far as the eye could see, low hills rose and jagged rocks lay scattered about. It seemed to be a desolate area that had not been visited by anyone for a long time.
Clearly, he was still within Fen Tian Valley. And Fen Tian Valley belonged to Fen Tian Gate’s territory.
Yun Che thought for a moment and decided not to leave. Instead, he picked up Longque and struck the cliff wall behind him. Soon, he carved out a cave several zhang deep. He carried Xiao Lingxi into the cave and set up an Ice Cloud Barrier at the entrance to block off their aura... Dangerous places were often safer. The people of Fen Tian Gate would not expect that Yun Che, riding a Heavenly Xuan mount, had not even flown out of Fen Tian Valley but had chosen to hide here instead.
Yun Che also did not want to go too far. Because Xiao Lie was still inside Fen Tian Gate.
Xiao Lingxi, still unconscious, had a peaceful expression, like a sleeping baby. When Yun Che gently set her down, she seemed to sense that she had left his embrace. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her eyelashes trembled nervously, and a look of fear appeared on her face... Yun Che quickly picked her up again and held her hand tightly. All her unease subsided, and the corners of her mouth curled into a faint, happy smile.
Looking at Xiao Lingxi, who was right in his arms, so close, Yun Che felt both deep satisfaction and profound heartache. He had thought that after returning home, he could take them away to a place where no one would ever bully them again. He never imagined that before he could even see them again, they had already fallen into this calamity because of him.
He did not let go of Xiao Lingxi. He simply held her, sitting quietly there, gently using his profound force to heal her injuries while circulating the Great Dao Pagoda Art to rapidly recover his own internal and external wounds.
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“You bastard!”
Fen Juecheng didn’t even get a chance to call out “Grandfather” before Fen Yijue slapped him across the face, sending him flying. The slap was extremely heavy. Fen Juecheng’s entire left cheek was swollen high, blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and his three completely shattered teeth scattered on the ground.
Having learned the full story, Fen Yijue was boiling with rage. He looked at everyone, his body trembling with fury even after more than twenty years of calm cultivation. “Our Fen Tian Gate has actually produced such beasts as you! Not only did you send all the elders to assassinate a young man, but you also stooped to kidnapping his family as bait—such despicable and filthy deeds! This is absolutely outrageous! You have shamed the sect’s face to the point of no return. And on top of that, you were arrogant enough to think you were catching a turtle in a jar... but instead, you nearly brought a tiger and wolf that would destroy the sect! If Ziya and I hadn’t arrived today, you would all be dead on the spot! Our Fen Tian Gate’s thousand-year legacy would have been ruined in one day!”
Faced with Fen Yijue’s wrath, the elders and hall masters were all silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to breathe heavily. Fen Juecheng was nearly knocked unconscious by the slap. He trembled as he knelt on the ground, not daring to speak, not even daring to cry out in pain.
“Alas, it’s done. Getting angry won’t help,” Fen Ziya shook his head and sighed deeply. “Duanhun, what are the casualties this time?”
Fen Duanhun closed his eyes and said painfully, “Twenty-seven elders and thirty-three hall masters—a total of thirty-one people have died under Yun Che’s hands, including the Grand Elder Fen Moli. One hundred and twenty-seven mid-level disciples have died, and one thousand six hundred and ninety-two ordinary disciples have died...”
The numbers Fen Duanhun recited grew more and more shocking. Fen Yijue’s whole body trembled as he listened. He suddenly slammed his fist down, and the stone table beside him turned into a pile of dust. He raised his head, looking out the door, and said in a low voice, “This child must be killed! No matter what!”
“His other relative is still here. Given his character, he will definitely come again,” Fen Moji said carefully, watching Fen Yijue’s expression.
Just as Fen Yijue was about to explode in fury, Fen Ziya interjected, “That child must indeed be killed. At this point, using the ‘bait’ we have already captured is the most effective and simplest method. Big brother, there is no need to be angry about that now. However, I observed that the beast suffered considerable injuries. Now that he knows we are here, he will certainly wait until he is fully healed before coming again... So he won’t come for at least seven days. In the meantime, let us first settle the chaos within the sect.”
Fen Yijue fell silent, then slowly nodded.
Fen Ziya’s assumption was correct. Yun Che would indeed wait until his injuries were healed and his strength fully restored before re-entering Fen Tian Gate.
But Fen Ziya could never have imagined that Yun Che would not need seven days to fully recover...
But only one day!!