Chapter 344: Battle with Fen Yijue
After a night of being burned by Phoenix flames, the Fen Tian Gate was in a state of utter disarray, with the entire sect filled with a thick, heavy smell of scorching. Who could have imagined that the imposing and arrogant Fen Tian Gate, which once looked down upon the world, would end up in such a miserable state? And all of this was because of a single person.
They had originally thought that with the appearance of the Supreme Sect Master and the Supreme Elders, this calamity brought by Yun Che would come to an end. Unexpectedly, in just one day, the Fen Tian Gate was destroyed a second time, left in ruins.
Fen Yijue hadn't slept all night. He had been exceptionally gifted since childhood, almost never experiencing failure as he grew up, eventually becoming one of the most powerful figures in the Cang Feng Empire. He never imagined that after years of secluded cultivation, he would be toyed with and humiliated by a junior who wasn't even twenty years old. His calm state of mind, which had remained undisturbed for twenty years, was almost completely shattered because of this.
In the morning, in the Fen Tian Gate's meeting hall, of the thirty-three Pavilion Masters and twenty-seven Elders from before, only twenty-two were now seated, most of them bearing injuries. They looked at each other, their hearts filled with a sense of desolation. Just as Fen Yijue arrived, a panicked voice came from outside: "Sect Master, it's bad... it's bad!"
Fen Duanhun shot to his feet and said in a deep voice, "What is it that makes you so flustered!"
"It's... it's the Young Sect Master! He... is currently being hung from the city gate of Canghuo City!"
"Wh... what!!"
All the elders stood up in shock, and Fen Duanhun felt his brain buzz as if it were about to explode.
"Outrageous!" Fen Yijue's bones creaked and cracked. In his fury, he charged out violently... but just as he was about to step out of the sect, he forcibly stopped, clenched his teeth, and suppressed his anger as he said, "Yun Che is extremely cunning; this could very well be another one of his diversionary tactics... Ziya, stay here!"
"Alright!" Fen Ziya stopped in his tracks and nodded slightly. The next instant, Fen Yijue had already leaped into the air, heading straight for Canghuo City, followed closely by Fen Duanhun and over a dozen elders.
At this moment, the city gate of Canghuo City was crowded with a surging mass of people, buzzing with activity.
High up on the city gate, a person was suspended by a thick, long rope. The hanging man was stripped completely naked, without a single thread on him. His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, his entire body limp, showing no sign of struggle. His eyes were open but completely vacant and lifeless, as if he were a dead man. However, the occasional spasm of his muscles proved that he was clearly still alive.
The Canghuo region was perpetually hot, and even the morning breeze carried a scorching heat. But the man hanging on the city gate shivered and twitched continuously in the hot wind. Between his legs, a small worm about the thickness of a little finger occasionally dangled.
The crowd in front of the gate grew larger and larger. When everyone saw clearly who was hanging up there, they were all stunned speechless... because this person was known to everyone in the Canghuo region. He was the foremost among the younger generation in the Canghuo region, and moreover, the future overlord of the entire Canghuo region. No one had ever dared to offend or provoke him.
The Young Sect Master of the Fen Tian Gate, Fen Juecheng!
This figure, who stood at the highest level in the entire Cang Feng Empire, had actually been stripped naked and hung from the city gate! The citizens of Canghuo City were shocked beyond belief, almost unable to trust their own eyes. The City Lord of Canghuo City, upon receiving the news, had already scrambled over, but he cowered in a corner, not daring to give the order to lower Fen Juecheng... As a city lord, he was certainly no fool. Someone who had the audacity and ability to humiliate the Young Sect Master of the Fen Tian Gate in such a manner was undoubtedly someone he could not afford to provoke. If he ordered Fen Juecheng to be taken down, he would likely be inviting a terrifyingly powerful enemy.
The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger. This earth-shattering news, enough to shock the entire Cang Feng Empire, spread at an astonishing speed. Driven by Sound Transmission Talismans, it had already reached the distant Cangfeng Imperial City.
In the minds of these onlookers, the Fen Tian Gate was an absolutely unattainable existence. Even an ordinary disciple of the Fen Tian Gate would be the object of endless envy, and they would never dare to provoke them in the slightest. They had never imagined that they would one day witness such a scene. They all vaguely sensed that the Fen Tian Gate, and even the entire Canghuo region, was about to undergo a drastic change.
An abnormal sound of wind came from the south, and a terrifying pressure suddenly descended, causing everyone's breath to stop simultaneously. Their chests felt heavy and uncomfortable, as if a huge boulder weighing ten thousand jun had been pressed onto them. They instinctively looked south... In the sky there, a tiny black spot appeared, but in an instant, the black spot rapidly enlarged in their vision. Its speed was terrifying, far beyond what they could comprehend.
Fen Yijue flew at full speed all the way. When he arrived at the Canghuo city gate, he immediately saw Fen Juecheng, completely naked, hanging from the city gate. Below was a dense crowd of onlookers, pointing and whispering. His eyes bulged, and his chest felt as if it would explode from extreme anger and humiliation.
"AHHH!!!!" Fen Yijue, who had cultivated his heart for decades and was nearly a hundred years old, let out a roar like a frenzied beast. In the midst of his roar, flames engulfed his entire body, and he reached out to grab Fen Juecheng, who was suspended in midair.
Just as he was less than five zhang away from Fen Juecheng, a phoenix-shaped flame suddenly shot up from below, directly aiming at Fen Yijue's face. Fen Yijue's eyes split wide, and he pulled back, slapping the Phoenix flame away. His nearly bursting eyes locked onto the figure below.
Yun Che dragged the Dragon Gate Sword, walking out unhurriedly. With every step, the hard marble ground beneath him cracked directly, leaving a deep footprint. He looked up at Fen Yijue in the air and sneered, "You finally came. I've been waiting for quite a while. It seems this grandson of yours isn't all that important to you."
"Beast!" Fen Yijue's chest heaved violently. The murderous aura was so intense it almost materialized, wanting to shred Yun Che into pieces. "I will personally... reduce you to ashes!!"
"Hahahaha!" Hearing Fen Yijue's words, Yun Che laughed disdainfully.
"What are you laughing at!" Fen Yijue's face turned icy cold.
"I'm laughing at your Fen Tian Gate, a bunch of self-righteous fools." Yun Che raised the Dragon Gate Sword, its tip pointing directly at Fen Yijue in the air. An aura carrying the Dragon God's presence silently spread outwards. The surrounding crowd, under this aura, found it hard to breathe and felt dizzy. In fear, they quickly retreated until they reached a distance they considered safe. "I originally had many matters to attend to and couldn't be bothered with your Fen Tian Gate. But you insisted on forcing me to come to your door. You've brought this upon yourselves; you deserve every bit of it! As for you... Hah, do you think I've been avoiding you all this time because I fear you?"
"Hmph, in ten years, I might have been wary of you. But right now, you have no right to be arrogant before me! Unfortunately for you, you won't live to see ten years from now. Today, I will personally destroy you!"
Yun Che sneered, "I don't know if I'll live to see ten years from now. But what I can be sure of is... you won't live past ten days!"
As his words fell, Yun Che suddenly charged forward. The Dragon Gate Sword burst with sword light, and a storm rose up, surging toward Fen Yijue.
"Overestimating yourself! Today, I'll let you know the consequences of offending my Fen Tian Gate!"
Fen Yijue waved his hand, and three tongues of flame as thick as a chi shot out, simultaneously exploding in midair, momentarily slowing Yun Che's attack.
"Flames of Fen Tian, Hell of Fire Refinement!"
Fen Yijue's entire body erupted with purple flames, his black hair standing on end. Rolling waves of flame surged skyward, as if pouring forth from hell itself, blanketing everything and descending upon Yun Che.
Screams erupted in front of the city gate. That mass of surging purple flames was over a li away from the nearest crowd, yet they still felt as if they had been thrown into boiling lava, their entire bodies about to catch fire. In their entire lives, they had never witnessed such terrifying power. As they retreated in panic, shouting, they stared wide-eyed at the overwhelming purple flames... because they might never have another chance in their lives to witness a battle of this level.
"You'll soon know what true Flames of Fen Tian really are! I'll burn you until even your ashes are gone... die!!"
Fen Yijue's voice was brutal and ferocious; his hatred for Yun Che had sunk deep into his bones. Faced with his Flames of Fen Tian, Yun Che stood still, gripping the Dragon Gate Sword, unmoving. He let the avalanche of purple flames rush toward him until he was completely engulfed.
"BREAK!!"
With a loud explosion, accompanied by a soul-shaking dragon roar, the purple flames that had swallowed Yun Che suddenly burst apart, scattering into countless fragmented flames in all directions. Yun Che stood in place, completely unharmed, not even a single hair singed. He sneered, "Oh... so this is your so-called Flames of Fen Tian? I've certainly seen it now... It's a joke! Hahahaha!"
"You..." Fen Yijue's eyes bulged slightly, his face full of shock. He grabbed the air, and a strange long blade, completely crimson and about nine chi long, appeared in his hand. The blade was covered in blazing flames... This blade, named "Jue Yan" (Extreme Flame), was one of only two Heaven Mysterious Artifacts in the Fen Tian Gate, left behind by the founder of the Fen Tian Gate. Using it to execute fire-based profound arts would unleash even greater power.
"I almost forgot, you can release Phoenix flames... so you aren't very afraid of fire. Then let's have you die under the Fen Tian Blade!"
Fen Yijue's body plummeted rapidly. He thrust the blade forward, and a blade light, a full five zhang long, entwined with scorching purple flames, charged toward Yun Che.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
The Dragon Gate Sword met it head-on. The heavy sword and the blade light clashed over a dozen times in an instant, tossing up a storm of purple flames. The piercing sound of clashing weapons nearly tore the eardrums of people several li away.
"Overlord's Wrath!!"
The Dragon Gate Sword swung upward horizontally, its momentum suddenly skyrocketing. The heavy sword blade struck the blade light with berserk power.
BOOM!!!
The five-zhang blade light shattered instantly. The residual force of the Dragon Gate Sword shot upward, heading straight for Fen Yijue. Fen Yijue snorted coldly, pressed down with his palm, and dispersed the force of the Dragon Gate Sword. At that moment, a purple flame phantom suddenly appeared behind him, and a massive purple fire ring abruptly materialized around Yun Che's body.
"Fen... Tian... Do... main!!"
...