**Chapter 413: Arcane Firmament Exposed**
With just over ten days until the Seven Nations Ranking Battle, the flow of people in Shenhuang City was growing larger by the day. Under such circumstances, why would the city gates suddenly be sealed?
The most likely possibility was that Feng Chihuo, having been secretly ambushed and driven to rage, searched for him all night without finding a trace, and in his fury, he became so angry that he nearly burst. Through Feng Xichen, he issued a temporary order to seal the city gates, allowing entry but no exit.
Yun Che stepped back two paces, his mind racing through several thoughts in an instant. Then, his speed suddenly increased as he forcibly shoved past two city guards and charged straight ahead.
"Stop him!!"
Yun Che's action was like poking a hornet's nest. Dozens of nearby city guards surged toward him. Grabbing his Dragon Gate, Yun Che didn't even glance around; with a single horizontal sweep, the violent power of his heavy sword erupted like a doomsday storm, sending the encircling guards flying heavily. None of them could stand for a long time, and even their weapons were instantly destroyed.
The sky was just barely light, and since no one had ever dared to cause trouble in Shenhuang City, the guard at the city gates was relatively weak. Although they had received the order to seal the gates, the gates were still wide open and hadn't been closed. After clearing the obstacles, Yun Che didn't wait for them to react further. He shot out of the city gate at extreme speed, stepped onto the land outside, then summoned the Snow Phoenix Beast and galloped away.
"Quick… quickly notify Lord Chihuo." A fallen city guard shouted with all his might.
Fifteen minutes later, a wave of fire roared past above the city gate, chasing directly in the direction Yun Che had fled. It was Feng Chihuo himself. Feng Xichen had ordered him to assassinate Yun Che, ensuring that no one would know and leaving no trace behind. But clearly, Feng Chihuo had been blinded by rage. To completely kill Yun Che, he was even making a huge commotion. After all, being toyed with and humiliated by a junior at the Earth Xuan Realm was an unprecedented disgrace. If he didn't kill Yun Che, he would never be able to quell the hatred in his heart!
The Snow Phoenix Beast was naturally much faster than Yun Che. Even if Feng Chihuo was heading in the right direction, he wouldn't be able to catch up anytime soon. However, Yun Che was completely unfamiliar with the terrain outside Shenhuang City. The map that Cang Yue had prepared for him only showed the route from Cangfeng Imperial City to Shenhuang City and the basic layout of Shenhuang City, with no markings of the terrain outside. Whether he could find a suitable place to completely shake off Feng Chihuo depended entirely on fate and luck.
As for Feng Chihuo, being a member of the Fenghuang God Sect, he was undoubtedly extremely familiar with this area. At the same time, although the Snow Phoenix Beast was very fast, wherever it passed, it left behind traces of cold air, making it easy to track.
Under Yun Che's control, the Snow Phoenix Beast's speed was pushed to the limit. Like a flash of lightning, it streaked across the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it was already dozens of miles away from Shenhuang City.
Along the way, Yun Che's face was calm but gloomy. Most of the area near Shenhuang City was open, making it hard to conceal his form. However, after more than half an hour, there was still no feeling of being chased from behind. But Yun Che didn't relax because of this. He was absolutely certain that Feng Chihuo would never give up the chase. The main reason he hadn't been caught yet was that the Snow Phoenix Beast's speed was not much slower than Feng Chihuo's.
Yun Che couldn't help but think of Hua Minghai… In terms of profound force intensity, he wasn't even one-tenth of Feng Chihuo, but his speed was so fast that Feng Chihuo couldn't even catch up on horseback. If he could also cultivate that "Phantom Lightning Extreme" that Hua Minghai had mentioned, he could easily shake off Feng Chihuo.
His current movement technique was only Star God Remnant Shadow. Although Star God Remnant Shadow was incredibly profound, it was limited to combat. Its existence perfectly compensated for the biggest flaw of the heavy sword, allowing Yun Che to wield a tens-of-thousands-of-jin heavy sword while still moving like a phantom. But each activation of Star God Remnant Shadow was a short-distance instant displacement, absolutely not suitable for normal high-speed movement.
To the southwest of Yun Che, an endless chain of mountains appeared in his sight. The mountain range had countless peaks, the tallest reaching a thousand zhang high. His heart stirred, and he changed direction, racing toward the chain of mountains. Soon, he plunged into the mountain range like a meteor.
As soon as he entered the mountains, an abnormal wave of heat hit him. Several birds were startled and scattered in all directions… These birds all had red feathers, and their entire bodies emitted the aura of flames.
A mountain range should have been covered in green grass with a slightly cold mountain breeze. But the deeper Yun Che went, the more the air felt scorching hot. Various trees and vegetation grew here, but most of their colors were red, and they all radiated the aura of flames. The profound beasts he encountered along the way were also ninety percent fire-type profound beasts.
Could it be because it was near Shenhuang City, related to the overly dense fire elements in Shenhuang City?
After flying in the mountains for nearly an hour, there was still no sign of Feng Chihuo behind him. It seemed he had completely shaken him off. Yun Che slowed down, and the Snow Phoenix Beast descended, dropping to less than a hundred zhang in height. This way, the overlapping mountain peaks could conceal his figure. At that moment, Mo Li's somewhat deep voice suddenly sounded in Yun Che's mind: "This place… seems somewhat unusual."
"Unusual? Where do you mean?" Yun Che immediately asked.
"I initially thought the heat here was due to being in a volcanic area or a region dense with fire elements. But I just casually probed and discovered that the abnormally active fire elements here come from a massive profound formation hidden very deep underground… The entire mountain range is enveloped within this profound formation. If I'm not mistaken, this huge profound formation was set up by the Fenghuang God Sect, and it's been around for at least eight thousand years. It also indicates that this mountain range should be the territory of the Fenghuang God Sect…"
"It seems… you've entered the place you should have least entered!"
"Boy, let's see where you can run this time!"
Just as Mo Li's voice faded, a furious roar suddenly sounded in Yun Che's ears. And the source of that voice… was directly in front of him!
Yun Che looked up, and on a low hill directly ahead of him, that "profound formation" that enveloped the entire mountain range…
This time, Yun Che didn't immediately flee. He stared coldly at Feng Chihuo and said, "You're tracking me using the profound formation here?"
"Oh? You can actually sense the Phoenix Great Formation here? Ah… I forgot, you are also someone with Phoenix bloodline. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to enter this place." Feng Chihuo approached step by step, sneering: "Your ability to conceal your tracks truly surprised me. It made me unable to find even a shadow of you until dawn. If you had fled in another direction, you might have actually escaped. But you had to run into this place… I've lived for a hundred years and have never seen such a perfect case of walking right into the trap."
"Phoenix Great Formation? What exactly is this place?"
"This is the Phoenix Mountain Range. It's a place our Fenghuang God Sect uses to train and test our younger disciples." At this moment, Feng Chihuo was no longer worried about Yun Che escaping from his palm. He leisurely said: "Only those with Phoenix bloodline can enter here. Other humans who approach will be repelled by the Phoenix Great Formation. Since it's a training and testing ground, naturally we must monitor every move of the disciples undergoing training and testing. And I happen to be one of the test supervisors of this Phoenix Mountain Range. With the help of the Phoenix Great Formation here, I can grasp everything here at any time, and even use the power of the Phoenix Great Formation to traverse the space here."
Yun Che: "!!"
"The moment you entered the Phoenix Mountain Range, I already knew. But since you are more cunning than I imagined, I didn't make a move immediately, lest you escape the Phoenix Mountain Range. I let you delve deeper… all the way to here." Feng Chihuo stared directly at Yun Che, extending his hand: "You are now a turtle in a jar. Don't even dream of escaping again. But don't worry, I suddenly don't want to kill you anymore. Because there is something on you that is enough to interest the Sect Master, and even the Four Sacred Grounds… Hehe, I didn't expect that not only are you a bastard who stole our Phoenix bloodline, but you are also a demon from the Huan Yao Realm! The Arcane Firmament you used, I saw it very clearly!"
"!!!" Yun Che's face instantly darkened, and a killing intent of extreme intensity flashed through his eyes.
After awakening the Arcane Firmament, Yun Che's combat power had undoubtedly skyrocketed. But in subsequent battles, he had never used the Arcane Firmament. Even when he was pushed to the brink by Ling Tianni, he never considered using it. Because ordinary people might not recognize Arcane Firmament, but the Tian Jian Villa, which had countless connections with the Tian Wei Sword Domain, would very likely recognize it.
And Arcane Firmament was the unique divine technique of the Yun Clan of the Huan Yao Realm. As the first among the twelve guardian clans of the Huan Yao Imperial Clan, the Yun Clan was undoubtedly one of the biggest enemies of the Four Sacred Grounds. The Huan Yao Realm had long been demonized by the Four Sacred Grounds. Once the Arcane Firmament was exposed, not only would the Four Sacred Grounds come after him, but the people of the seven nations would regard him as a "demon."
At that point, there would be no place for him in the entire Tian Xuan Continent.
This consequence was millions of times more severe than exposing the Phoenix Flame.
Yun Che clenched his hands, his gaze turning icy cold. Before, all his efforts had been focused on escape. But now, he absolutely could not escape! The person who had recognized his Arcane Firmament… must die!
No matter what, even at great cost, he had to kill him!
...
**Chapter 414: Staking Life on a Single Blow**
"Run! Why aren't you running? Have you accepted your fate, or have you been scared out of your wits?" Feng Chihuo laughed wildly: "Enough, the cat-and-mouse game should end. Although I've spent too much time on you, with such a huge unexpected gain, it's not a loss. I heard you are also the consort of the Cangfeng Imperial Clan… Tsk tsk, if that bird emperor of the Cangfeng Kingdom and those lowly commoners knew that their noble consort is actually a demon from the Huan Yao Realm, I wonder how interesting their reaction would be… Hahahaha."
After laughing wildly, Feng Chihuo's face suddenly darkened: "Although I won't kill you, before handing you over to our Sect Master… I will make you wish you were dead! The debt of you toying with me before… I'll settle it with you right now!"
Feng Chihuo suddenly swooped down from the air, his arm swinging fiercely. In an instant, a fire pillar three zhang wide shot down, then quickly transformed. By the time it reached Yun Che, it had turned into a dancing fire phoenix. The scorching temperature was almost enough to melt the ground entirely.
Phoenix flames—Yun Che was not afraid of them at all. But within the flames was also the profound force impact of a high-level throne. Yun Che's face became serious. He grabbed his Dragon Gate in an instant, let out a loud roar, and the power of the heavy sword surged upward to meet the fire phoenix.
Boom!!
Phoenix flame and heavy sword storm collided head-on. Yun Che's hair was wildly blown back, his face twisted. The heavy sword's power lasted only half a breath before being completely shattered. The fire phoenix crashed down violently, striking Yun Che and the Snow Phoenix Beast.
The sound of Phoenix flame power erupting was like rolling thunder. The terrifying heat caused the surrounding space to suddenly expand. From within the flames came Yun Che's muffled grunt and the Snow Phoenix Beast's mournful cry. One person and one beast were sent flying—one east, one west…
"Xiao Chan!"
The Snow Phoenix Beast completely lost its balance, like a leaf caught in a gale, falling hundreds of zhang away… On its originally snow-white wings, two shocking patches of blood rapidly spread. After it landed, there was no more sound. After all, it was only a Heavenly Xuan Beast; how could it withstand the blow of a high-level throne?
Bang!
Yun Che also crashed heavily to the ground. The violent impact smashed a huge pit into the earth. When he landed, his clothes were torn and bloodstained, his limbs twitching continuously. Using almost all his strength, he supported himself on his Dragon Gate and struggled to stand up, panting heavily.
"Mo Li, with my current body, how long can I maintain the 'Purgatory' state at most?" Yun Che asked in a low voice.
Mo Li was also well aware that since Feng Chihuo had recognized Yun Che's Arcane Firmament, he had to be killed no matter what. To kill Feng Chihuo, he would have to forcibly open the Purgatory Realm Gate. She said cautiously: "Fifteen breaths… at the absolute maximum, not exceeding twenty breaths. Otherwise, all the blood vessels in your body will burst. Even the Great Dao Pagoda Art won't be able to save you!"
"Tsk, not bad. No wonder the prince specifically sent me to kill you. You do have some skills. After taking thirty percent of my power in one blow, you're not half dead and can still stand up."
Feng Chihuo landed from the air, unhurriedly walking toward Yun Che, his contemptuous gaze like that of someone looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. He flexed his wrist, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes: "You made this arm of mine bleed quite a bit, even left a few cracks in the bones. To repay your kindness, should I snap your bones one by one, or crush them piece by piece?"
Yun Che gritted his teeth, forcibly lifted his heavy sword, his whole body swaying: "Even if I have to die today, I'll risk my life to leave a few more wounds on you!"
With that, Yun Che let out a roar, staggering as he raised his heavy sword, swinging it at Feng Chihuo, who was now only three steps away.
"Hahaha!" The incoming heavy sword carried no momentum at all; instead, it dragged Yun Che's body down, threatening to collapse at any moment. Feng Chihuo laughed loudly, reaching out contemptuously to grab the Dragon Gate: "With your abilities, you think you can hurt—"
The moment Feng Chihuo's hand was about to touch the Dragon Gate, Yun Che's gaze suddenly changed. "Purgatory" activated instantly. The previously staggering Yun Che transformed like a beast suddenly awakened in an abyss, erupting with terrifying momentum.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star!!"
A dragon's roar that shook the heavens erupted from the Dragon Gate. The ground beneath Yun Che's feet trembled violently, cracks spreading like a spiderweb… This sudden change made Feng Chihuo's face drastically change. But at such close range, even if he were a god, it would be hard to react… The sword strike, filled with all of Yun Che's power, smashed heavily into his arm.
Boom!!
The sound of bones cracking was drowned in the earth-shattering explosion of force. Surrounding rocks were wildly swept up by the heavy sword storm, then shattered into the finest dust. The elbow bone of Feng Chihuo's left arm was directly broken. His entire body, under the massive impact, was sent flying over a hundred zhang like a spinning top, crashing heavily into a large rock, smashing it to pieces.
With Yun Che's strength, he had to join forces with Xia Qingyue just to defeat Ling Tianni, who was at the King Xuan Realm Level 6. To single-handedly defeat Feng Chihuo, who was at King Xuan Realm Level 8, normal combat gave him not a shred of hope. If he could continuously maintain Purgatory, he might be able to fight Feng Chihuo, but killing him would be nearly impossible… Moreover, his Purgatory state could last at most fifteen breaths. Beyond fifteen breaths, he was gambling with his life. Beyond twenty breaths, he was simply seeking death.
His only hope of killing Feng Chihuo… was to pour all his strength and will into the fight, even at the cost of his life! At the same time, he had to use every possible strategy and means—no matter how despicable.
Given Yun Che's physical resilience, a blow from thirty percent of Feng Chihuo's power, even a fire-attribute attack, should not have left him so battered. Even the torn clothes and numerous small wounds were self-inflicted by his own power… All for this moment. And the effect was even better than expected—directly crippling one of Feng Chihuo's arms!
With Feng Chihuo now only one arm usable, his chances were much greater!
A roar of extreme fury erupted as Feng Chihuo stood up from the rubble. His entire left arm hung limp, twisted into a horrible shape. He grabbed his pain-wracked, bone-shattered left arm with his right hand and screamed like a madman: "Yun Che… I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!!"
Feng Chihuo had lived over a hundred years, with immense combat experience. He was by no means an arrogant, overconfident person. On the contrary, even when facing a weaker opponent, he would be cautious. But Yun Che was simply too weak—Earth Xuan Realm, two whole major realms below him. How could he have been on guard? A tiger might be wary of an injured jackal, but how could it be cautious of an injured young rabbit?
The pain in his arm was excruciating, but far less than the shock in his heart… The power Yun Che had suddenly erupted with was the kind only a high-level throne could possess. How could it come from an Earth Xuan Realm profound practitioner?
Just as he roared, a figure flickered before him. Yun Che had already taken the initiative to attack, carrying an aura no weaker than before. Particularly in his eyes, there was a bloody red light.
"Die!!" Anger and hatred instantly flooded all of Feng Chihuo's emotions. He roared, thrusting his right arm forward. His palm, infused with violent profound force, aimed directly at Yun Che's heart… intent on tearing out Yun Che's heart. After being ambushed and having an arm broken, he no longer cared whether Yun Che was a demon from the Huan Yao Realm. In his extreme rage, he only wanted to tear him into pieces.
Rip!!
Feng Chihuo's palm struck empty air, and at the same time, four figures of Yun Che appeared around him. Despite his shock, Feng Chihuo, with his rich experience, did not panic. Instead of trying to lock onto Yun Che's position, he directly erupted his Phoenix profound force in all directions.
Bang!
Yun Che appeared behind Feng Chihuo, his Dragon Gate smashing solidly into his back. At the same time, the profound force Feng Chihuo had instantly detonated struck Yun Che's chest solidly.
Two different forces exploded simultaneously, causing the surrounding mountain body to tremble violently. A blossom of blood burst from Yun Che's chest, and he was sent flying backward. Feng Chihuo fared no better—he was smashed into the ground by the Dragon Gate, rolling like a gourd for a long distance. A dent half a finger deep had been smashed into his back. He slammed his palm into the ground, leaping up. Before he could even stabilize himself, he was shocked to see that Yun Che, who had been sent flying backward, had actually halted in midair. Then, his entire body ignited with flames, and he shot down like a meteor toward him.
Phoenix Wing Firmament!!
"Wh… what?!"
Feng Chihuo's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that Yun Che could leverage himself in midair, especially while being thrown backward. His face dark, a mass of extremely dense Phoenix flame gathered in his right palm… His entire hand condensed all his power without reservation, and with a furious roar, he thrust it toward Yun Che.
Facing Feng Chihuo's attack, Yun Che's downward speed did not slow in the slightest, nor did his direction deviate. He was willing to take this blow from Feng Chihuo just to land this sword strike… With all his power behind the blow, even if Feng Chihuo wanted to withdraw, it was too late. Facing Yun Che's all-or-nothing, life-staking attack, Feng Chihuo's eyes widened to the limit, and he roared: "Looking to die!"
Boom!!!!!!
Yun Che's Dragon Gate and Feng Chihuo's palm struck each other simultaneously… In an instant, the blood vessels on Yun Che's arm burst in large numbers. A huge mass of blood exploded from his chest. Several ribs and sternum bones broke, and even his internal organs showed cracks. His entire body was blasted hundreds of zhang into the air.
As for Feng Chihuo, all the bones on the left side of his chest were shattered. His heart was displaced by an inch. Streams of blood gushed out from the wound like a fountain. He couldn't imagine that a junior at the Earth Xuan Realm could severely wound him with a single sword strike. And yet, when his own full-power blow landed squarely, it didn't shatter the opponent's body to pieces. The force couldn't even penetrate the opponent's internal organs, blocked solidly.
Such power, such a body… how could it possibly be only Earth Xuan Realm… impossible!!
In the brief exchange, both were already covered in blood and injuries. Because Yun Che wasn't looking to fight him, not to save himself or defeat him, but to kill him! To kill Feng Chihuo, in these short ten-plus breaths, he had to pour all his strength into offense, without diverting any power or time for defense or evasion.
"Heavenly Wolf Strike!!"
Yun Che, still in the air, completely ignored his internal and external injuries. Before his body stabilized, his heavy sword struck down with all its power. A shadow of the Celestial Wolf howled toward Feng Chihuo, smashing violently into his chest… Feng Chihuo flooded his body with power, managing to barely hold against the Heavenly Wolf shadow. But his body was forced backward at extreme speed, his feet plowing a trench dozens of zhang long into the ground before he could barely cancel out the Heavenly Wolf Strike's power. However, before he could catch his breath, Yun Che had already landed from the air, one sword strike hurtling toward him.
Feng Chihuo yelled and roared, condensing fire into a sword. But this time, he didn't attack Yun Che. Instead, he used his Phoenix flame sword to forcefully block Yun Che's heavy sword… Yun Che struck with life-staking intent every time, but Feng Chihuo was in no way willing to trade blow for blow. At this point, facing Yun Che's terrifyingly powerful, madly injury-for-injury tactics, his anger was quickly being replaced by fear and dread.
Every time Yun Che swung his sword, dozens of blood vessels on his arm burst. Both arms quickly turned blood-red, as if they had just been dipped in a pool of blood. The wounds on his body constantly bled, and his internal injuries worsened with each unreserved attack. But he ignored it all. Every sword strike was vicious to the extreme.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...