Chapter 354: Scorched Earth
The Fen Tian Gate now had no strength left to contend with Yun Che. Though there were still tens of thousands of disciples, even if that number were doubled, they could pose no threat to him. Amid the hoarse roars of the Fen Tian Elders, everyone trampled by the fear of annihilation and the sorrow of their sect's doom, they howled like wolves, grabbing their weapons and charging at Yun Che.
Yun Che lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the rapidly approaching crowd. Not a single ripple crossed his calm face. Ahead, the last thirteen elders of the Fen Tian Gate charged together. Driven by despair and grief, their faces were twisted, their eyes bulging as if about to burst. Wounds of varying severity covered their bodies, yet they erupted with power far beyond their usual limits.
Yun Che coldly raised his giant sword and stepped forward—the first step in today's slaughter! And also the first step in sending the Fen Tian Gate into the abyss of destruction.
Boom!
The thirteen Fen Tian Elders, regretting only that they could not die together with Yun Che, refused to dodge his attack and forced their way forward. But the power of the Heavenly Xuan Realm now held no threat in Yun Che's eyes. Amid the thunderous impact, they were all blasted away, half of them severely injured in an instant. Yun Che advanced again, unleashing a second wave of force from the Dragon Gate, aimed directly at Fen Duanhun.
Fen Duanhun was already no match for Yun Che, and with his wounds unhealed, Yun Che's strike sent him flying, one arm instantly fractured. But Yun Che did not pursue. His gaze locked onto Fen Yijue behind Fen Duanhun, and he hurled a violent Phoenix Flame from his heavy sword.
The terrifying force rippled through space, the blazing light reflecting Fen Yijue's pale face. He stepped back, raising both hands to shield himself with all his strength...
Boom!!!
The Phoenix Flame exploded, but the raw power from the heavy sword was not scattered. It brutally battered the defense Fen Yijue had barely erected. Forced to move his profound energy while severely wounded, and suffering such a violent impact, Fen Yijue retreated dozens of zhang before spitting out a mouthful of blood. His strength collapsed, and the Phoenix Break tore straight through, striking Fen Yijue's chest—and blasting out through his back!
"Supreme... Supreme Sect Master!"
"Supreme Sect Master!!!"
Fen Yijue stared blankly at the chaotic, ruined Fen Tian Gate. In a trance, he saw images of its former dominance and glory. But those past scenes eventually dissolved into an endless, boundless void, and his body slowly collapsed into that emptiness. The last sounds in his ears were the anguished cries of those around him.
Though Fen Yijue had not shown himself for over twenty years, he had always been the true foundation of the Fen Tian Gate. His death meant that the Fen Tian Gate was truly finished.
"No need to scream so loudly," Yun Che said expressionlessly. "Because you will very soon... join him in hell!!"
As his voice fell, a massive Phoenix Flame burst from his body. In an instant, the raging fire engulfed the area for a hundred zhang, sweeping countless Fen Tian disciples into a deadly inferno. The Phoenix Flame spread with the wind, swallowing more and more of the Fen Tian Gate's territory. Though it was early morning, the blazing light still dyed the sky above the Fen Tian Gate the color of blood.
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"Ah!!"
Xiao Juetian, deep in thought with his eyes closed, suddenly jolted as if struck by lightning. He shot to his feet, hands trembling, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.
"Sect Master, what is it?" The old man beside him asked urgently.
Xiao Juetian's eyelids twitched, his face clearly marked with deep shock and dread. As the Sect Master of the Xiao Sect, he almost never showed such an expression. "Second Uncle's soul imprint has disappeared... He... he's dead!"
"What!?" The black-robed old man exclaimed in shock, then shook his head frantically. "Impossible! Elder Wuyi's profound strength is second only to the Supreme Sect Master, virtually invincible across all Cang Feng. And he was carrying a full five Heaven-Destroying Beads. How could he..."
"I don't want to believe it either, but the soul imprint does not lie. Second Uncle is indeed dead. Moreover, from the time the soul imprint weakened to its complete disappearance, only a few breaths passed. Not only did Second Uncle die, but he died a brutal death at the hands of an extremely powerful force. With Second Uncle's strength at the King Xuan Realm, Level 3, the only thing that could kill him so quickly..."
Xiao Juetian could not continue. He clearly felt a chill wind creeping up his spine, freezing him to the marrow. Yun Che had severely wounded Fen Yijue and killed Fen Ziya alone, shocking Xiao Juetian with his power. And the rapid, brutal death of Xiao Wuyi further told him just how terrifying Yun Che's strength had become. Most importantly, Xiao Wuyi's death proved that not only had he failed to kill Yun Che, but Yun Che had killed him instead. Once Yun Che was done with the Fen Tian Gate, the old grudges from three years ago, combined with this new enmity...
Xiao Juetian's entire back was quickly soaked with cold sweat. He suddenly looked up and said urgently, "Immediately... immediately have the branch sect at Canghuo City investigate the current situation at the Fen Tian Gate with all their might... Go!"
"...Yes!" The black-robed old man quickly withdrew.
Xiao Juetian took several deep breaths, calmed himself rapidly, then swiftly dashed out of the main pavilion, heading straight for the secret place of his supreme sect master, Xiao Wuqing. He felt that a catastrophe that would determine the survival of the Xiao Sect was imminent. And this catastrophe was almost unavoidable. The entire Xiao Sect had to begin preparing everything they could from this moment.
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The air over Fen Tian Valley was exceptionally hot that day. A blazing inferno raged at the center of the valley. Within less than an hour, it had completely swallowed the thousand-year-old Fen Tian Gate's territory, spreading over ten li, until everything was burned to desolate ruins.
Beneath the flames lay countless charred corpses—from the Fen Tian Elders down to tens of thousands of ordinary disciples. Not one had escaped the sea of fire ignited by the Phoenix Flame. All were buried under the Phoenix Flame and the Dragon Gate.
Truly corpses strewn across the fields, not a blade of grass left.
The once-mighty Fen Tian Gate, a sacred ground admired by all across Cang Feng, was reduced to scorched earth in a single day. It became a graveyard filled with the smell of burning and desolation.
Standing in the blackened ruins, gazing at the Fen Tian Gate he had completely destroyed, Yun Che felt no joy, no pity, no pride or arrogance at having annihilated one of the four great sects. Instead, he felt nothing but calm. Tens of thousands of people had perished beneath his flames and heavy sword, yet he was as calm as if he had merely trampled a bunch of despicable ants.
And this calm was not something he deliberately put on or maintained. It was genuine, stemming from the depths of his soul. Such a scene and scale were things a mortal could never witness, let alone perpetrate. But for him, it was far from the first time.
Once, it was for hatred. Those who had killed his master—he used the Heaven-Defying Poison Pearl's supreme poison to annihilate their sects one by one, leaving entire sects and even surrounding cities littered with corpses. And among those sects, many were on a much larger scale than the Fen Tian Gate.
Today, it was also for hatred. Though Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi had both been rescued and were safe, Yun Che, having lived a previous life, would no longer allow himself to be foolishly merciful. Even if he were called a demon, cursed, reviled, and feared by the world, he would never regret today.
Because in his past life, it was mercy that led to his master being forced to death; it was mercy that caused him to narrowly escape death several times before being driven off Jueyun Cliff; and it was mercy that gave the Fen Tian Gate the chance to kidnap his grandfather and little aunt! It wasn't that his heart had turned cold and dark, but two lifetimes had taught him time and again that any mercy toward an enemy was cruelty to oneself and those close to you. Sometimes, it was fatal cruelty!
But in the ruins of the Fen Tian Gate, not everyone was dead. Just ahead of Yun Che, a figure staggered to his feet. His hair was disheveled, his face covered in dust, his body covered in wounds. But his eyes blazed with a ferocity fiercer than a wolf's.
He swayed, using almost all his strength to stand. Then, with a roar, a massive force seemed to surge from somewhere within him. He leaped forward, both hands reaching for Yun Che's throat.
His action made Yun Che's eyes flicker. His body was completely drained, yet he had still erupted with such power. This was unmistakably strength wrung from his very soul!
In two lifetimes, this was the first time Yun Che had encountered someone who, like him, had the willpower to squeeze strength from his soul.
Yun Che raised his arm and casually flicked. A gust of wind blasted out, sending the man flying far away. The man landed on the ground, trembling all over. Then, slowly, he raised his upper body again. His furious eyes brimmed with hatred etched into bone and soul.
"Fen Juechen, you'd better save your strength to breathe! Back at the Cangfeng Mystic Palace, you were no match for me, but at least you could barely trade blows. But now, you don't even qualify for me to give you a proper glance! With your power, even if I stood here without moving, you couldn't harm a single hair on my head!"
Yun Che stared coldly at the youth before him, who exuded resentment and murderous intent. "I won't kill you today. In fact, you are the only one I won't kill. But don't get me wrong—it's not because I pity you, nor because I don't want to. No one knows better than I the consequences of not pulling up weeds by the roots."
"But before she left, my little aunt specifically pleaded with me to spare your life. I agreed to her. And when I promise my little aunt something, I always keep my word." Yun Che's voice was icy.
Not pulling up weeds by the roots would leave future troubles. And Fen Juechen's eyes made Yun Che absolutely certain that sparing his life today would be far more dangerous than sparing Fen Yijue's. It might leave unpredictable future calamities.
But since he had promised Xiao Lingxi not to kill Fen Juechen, he would never deliver a killing blow. Moreover, according to Xiao Lingxi, if not for Fen Juechen's repeated interference, she might have taken her own life at the hands of Xiao Juecheng before Yun Che arrived at the Fen Tian Gate.
That alone was reason enough to spare Fen Juechen's life.
As for the potential consequences, he would bear them fully!
...