Chapter 378: Eternal Night Prince
In the Black Fiend Empire, the Utmost Evil Place.
The yin aura was dense, gray mist swirled, and the wind that kept howling sounded like the wailing of ghosts and the roar of demons. In such a terrifying place, Fen Juechen, who should have died dozens of times, managed to survive by sheer force. He crawled and dragged himself inch by inch with his limbs, relying on an unyielding will and obsession to sustain a life that should have long since withered away.
Finally, he crawled to the end of this place... Before him was a huge jade coffin, semi-transparent, within which swayed a mass of black mist that seemed both present and absent.
"You have come at last... I have been waiting for you for a long time."
The gray mist inside the jade coffin suddenly twisted, and a sinister voice echoed in Fen Juechen's mind.
"Who... are you!"
"I am the one you seek! And you are the one I have been waiting for! Use the key in your hand to unlock this soul-sealing shackle, and I will grant you supreme power!"
"Why should I... trust you!"
"I cannot prove it, but at this moment, you have no choice but to trust me! Without my power immediately, you will die soon. And I am the same kind of person as you! Your soul is filled with endless hatred and obsession, but my hatred and obsession are millions of times greater than yours! If you have my power, there will be no blood feud in this world that you cannot avenge! I am nothing but a remnant soul now. To take revenge, I must borrow your body! Freeing me will bring you nothing but endless benefits. Otherwise, you can only wait for death in despair!"
Fen Juechen's hand trembled as he reached out. The pitch-black key fell upon the soul-sealing coffin.
In an instant, smoke rose from the coffin, the light of a formation flickered briefly, and then vanished completely.
Whoosh!!
The sinister wind surged. The soul-sealing coffin suddenly opened. The sealed soul escaped into the world, letting out a crazed laugh of utmost joy, then charged straight at Fen Juechen, ruthlessly piercing into his soul.
"Hahahaha... Hahahaha... A thousand years, it has been a thousand years! I have finally gained freedom! The heavens have not been completely blind after all, granting me the chance to take bloody revenge... Hahahaha..."
"Boy, thank you for freeing my soul! To repay your kindness, I will take over your soul and become the new master of this broken body of yours! This is a great favor to you... Hahahaha!"
"You... Aah... Aaaaahhh!"
It was as if ten thousand steel needles had suddenly pierced his soul. Fen Juechen's face turned pale instantly, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he let out a roar of extreme agony: "You... you... want to devour... my soul!! Ungh... Aaaaahhh!"
"So weak, yet you can still speak under my soul-devouring attack? I am truly surprised... Don't worry, after I devour your soul, I will kill the person you most want to kill, based on your memories, and avenge your deep hatred for you. Are you satisfied? Now... let your soul obediently become the sacrifice for my soul!!"
"Aaaaahhh!"
Fen Juechen screamed with a heart-rending voice, his entire body convulsing and twisting wildly. Every part of him was completely drenched in sweat, as if soaked by a torrential rain. Physical pain, no matter how intense, he could fully endure without even making a sound. But the agony of his spirit being torn apart was millions of times more cruel than being torn apart by five horses. He felt as if countless steel needles and bayonets were stabbing and slicing his soul, plunging his consciousness into an endless abyss of ultimate pain.
If his soul were destroyed, devoured, then he would lose all consciousness, his body would become a soulless husk, he would never be able to take revenge, and he would forever be a puppet of another.
That was even more unbearable than being killed, than being sliced into ten thousand pieces.
I, Fen Juechen... can die... can die without a complete corpse...
But I can never... become a humiliating puppet!!
I crawled here through countless hardships...
To find the power that can let me take revenge...
Not to become a puppet!!
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
Fen Juechen's eyes bulged wide. His originally scattered gaze gathered fiercely, releasing a light of hatred that could make even demons tremble. All his will and conviction were unleashed in that roar...
"Tsk tsk, still trying to struggle? Hahaha, utterly ridiculous. In my eyes, your soul is as weak as an ant. How could it possibly... Hm? Wha... what!? Impossible... What did you do? This is impossible... This is impossible!"
The nearly devoured soul, originally weak and fragile, suddenly erupted with an unimaginably powerful counterforce. This counterforce grew with Fen Juechen's hoarse roars, not only completely resisting the dark soul's devouring, but gradually surrounding it, trapping it, and even... beginning to devour it in reverse.
"Impossible... This is impossible! How could a mere Spirit Xuan Realm brat have such a powerful will? Impossible... Aaahhh..." The dark soul could no longer laugh wildly. His voice turned panicked and terrified, as if falling from heaven into the abyss of hell.
"I, Fen Juechen... have been defeated, trampled, and humiliated... All that I can endure... because one day, I will repay it a millionfold... But... no one will ever turn my body into the most humiliating puppet... No... one!!"
"Aaahhh!!" The dark soul screamed in terror. His powerful soul was now completely trapped within Fen Juechen's soul, being devoured by him... And if his soul were devoured, his existence would vanish from the world completely, and his memories and the power within his soul would all be obtained by Fen Juechen. He shrieked in horror and even let out a pitiful plea: "Spare me... Stop... I will grant you the most powerful strength... I cannot die..."
The dark soul's voice suddenly cut off at that moment. Then, his voice became agitated and trembling: "Huang'er... Huang'er... It's you, Huang'er!!"
Fen Juechen: "??"
"Huang'er, it really is Huang'er..." The dark soul being devoured seemed to forget the pain, letting out a voice of tears of joy: "Huang'er... I am the King of the Eternal Night Royal Clan, your birth father!!"
Fen Juechen was drenched in sweat. He sneered and ground his teeth: "You stupid, treacherous, pitiful remnant soul... trying to say something so absurd just to survive!"
"Huang'er, I truly am your father. Back then, our Eternal Night Royal Clan was destroyed by traitors. You were also cruelly killed. After your death, your mother sealed a wisp of your soul and used her own life as a catalyst to activate the Eternal Night Forbidden Art, allowing you to reincarnate a thousand years later with half your bloodline and soul intact..."
"Enough! At death's door... and still spouting such ridiculous nonsense!" Fen Juechen clenched his teeth: "Shut up... forever!!"
Fen Juechen's willpower far exceeded the dark soul's imagination. Gradually, his remnant soul lost even the last bit of struggling strength... And he simply gave up struggling entirely...
"Very well. After you obtain my memories and the power sealed within my soul, you will naturally understand everything..."
"Huang'er, you are the prince of our Eternal Night Royal Clan, the last bloodline and hope of our clan. You must live well, reclaim our clan's Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, rebuild the Eternal Night Royal Clan, avenge your mother... avenge all your clansmen... avenge yourself... You must take revenge... You must take revenge!!!"
The dark soul's voice echoed for a long time in Fen Juechen's mind before fading away. And then, this soul not only gave up struggling, but actively merged all its memories and special soul power into Fen Juechen's soul.
Memories spanning a thousand years surged like a tidal wave into Fen Juechen's soul. His expression gradually turned blank. In the end, he knelt there like a dead man, motionless for a long time, his face covered with overflowing tear streaks...
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With the aid of the Snow Phoenix Beast, Yun Che's journey to the Bing Yun Fairy Palace this time was naturally much shorter than before. After flying into the vast snowfields, the location of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace soon appeared in his sight.
As he watched the approaching palace, Yun Che couldn't help but think of Chu Yuechan. Over the past few months, he still hadn't received any news about her, not even from Xia Yuanba. With his current influence, his name had already resounded throughout every corner of the Cang Feng Empire. Chu Yuechan was carrying his child, and Xia Yuanba had left because of him. They should have come looking for him immediately upon learning he was still alive.
"Could it be... that you've already left Cang Feng?" Yun Che muttered to himself, somewhat absentmindedly.
The Bing Yun Fairy Palace had not yet lifted its closed-palace state, but this time, naturally, there was no obstruction to Yun Che's entry. Before he even landed, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had already detected his arrival, and Chu Yueli was already waiting at the main gate.
"You're here." Chu Yueli's face was frosty, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Junior Yun Che greets Fairy Chu. I have not broken my promise." Yun Che stepped forward. "For you to personally welcome me, I am truly flattered... Actually, having Qingyue come would have been enough."
Chu Yueli showed no reaction to Yun Che's words and said indifferently: "The Palace Master knows you have arrived. Follow me."
Yun Che had intended to tease this Ice Glass Fairy, hoping even to see her anger, but instead he was met with a dull response. He shrugged and followed Chu Yueli inside.
Even when the palace was not closed, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace rarely received outside guests. Thus, most of its female disciples had little opportunity to interact with men. As Yun Che followed Chu Yueli through the ice palace, his name "Yun Che" quickly attracted many Bing Yun disciples to watch from a distance, their gazes filled with deep curiosity toward the nominal husband of the young palace master and the young man who had broken Chu Yuechan's vow.
When they met Palace Master Gong Yuxian, Xia Qingyue was at her side. Yun Che stepped forward and said: "Junior Yun Che greets the Ice Cloud Palace Master. Four months ago, I recklessly broke into the Bing Yun Fairy Palace and was disrespectful to you. I hope you will forgive me."
Gong Yuxian was first surprised, then smiled faintly: "A man who destroyed the Fen Tian Gate and dared to trample on the son of a Divine Emperor actually lowering his head to admit a mistake... Yun Che, you have truly earned my respect. No need to apologize. That day, you were distraught and lost your mind; it was understandable that you forced your way into the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. Moreover, it shows that you truly care about Yuechan. And the words you said that day... were not entirely wrong."
"Let's set these matters aside for now. Yun Che, the Supreme Palace Master of our palace wishes to see you. Follow me... Qingyue, you come too."