Chapter 416: Snow Princess
After who knows how long, Yun Che's consciousness finally began to stir slightly. Pain came from every corner of his body. To kill Feng Chihuo, he had paid a far greater price than he had anticipated. Nearly half of his blood vessels had ruptured, almost seventy percent of his muscles had suffered varying degrees of damage, and his internal organs were riddled with dozens of large and small cracks. Any one of these injuries would have been fatal to an ordinary profound practitioner.
The sensation of pain told Yun Che that he was still alive, and his bodily functions were beginning to recover. Vaguely, he felt a warm profound energy flowing slowly through his body... It wasn't his own energy, but that of another person. This energy was gentle and careful, as if trying to heal his wounds while fearing it might accidentally hurt him. The cautious and inexperienced movements indicated that the owner of this energy had likely never used profound energy to heal someone before.
Who could it be...
Who is saving me...
At that moment, the image before his fainting surfaced in Yun Che's mind... a face of beauty so pure it seemed not to belong to this world. Though it was merely the briefest glimpse before he lost consciousness, it was branded deep into his soul. Such beauty, once seen, could never be forgotten in a lifetime.
Was it a dream... or a painting? No... such an unparalleled celestial countenance—even in a dream, even by the world's most skilled painter—could not possibly be captured.
That dreamlike beautiful face caused Yun Che's barely revived consciousness to fall into an uncontrollable daze and intoxication, making him even forget the pain wracking his body. Gradually, the warm profound energy within him faded bit by bit, and Yun Che's consciousness once again sank into silence.
After another unknown stretch of time, Yun Che's consciousness briefly surfaced again. What he felt was still that same gentle and warm profound energy. In the following period, his consciousness repeatedly revived and subsided. Each time it revived, he sensed the presence of that energy... or rather, each time that energy came, it brought about a brief awakening of his consciousness.
Finally, at a certain moment, the fingers of both of Yun Che's hands twitched simultaneously. His heavy eyelids, driven by his will, slowly opened.
What entered his vision were bright rays of light and a blue sky. Yun Che's body possessed astonishing recovery capabilities. As he opened his eyes, he could feel the existence of his limbs and body—heavy, but with a clear sense of controllability. A small amount of profound energy had also gathered in his originally empty profound veins. This energy, along with the minor recovery of his bodily functions, was enough for him to perform simple actions... including barely standing up.
Yun Che pressed his palms against the ground, gritted his teeth, and struggled to sit up from the ground...
"Ah, you're awake!"
A girl's voice came from beside his ear. The voice was melodious and tender, ethereal as if it didn't belong to this world. Hearing this voice, Yun Che's soul tremored uncontrollably, and a frenzied, irrepressible desire surged within him... a desire to look upon the owner of that voice—what kind of girl could produce such a pure, clear, and otherworldly voice?
He turned his head and gazed at the figure of the girl standing right beside him... It was a girl who seemed to have stepped out of a fairy realm. The moment he beheld her face, Yun Che's consciousness briefly blurred, and he couldn't believe the image his eyes were seeing... because he couldn't believe that in this world, there could exist such an incredibly beautiful face. He searched through all his memories but found no words that could describe this countenance.
The girl was dressed in a luxurious red robe, embroidered with soaring phoenixes circling the sky. This was not the first time Yun Che had seen a phoenix robe, but hers was more magnificent and noble than any he had ever seen. Both the red and gold threads shimmered brilliantly, as if every thread and every ornament were made from the most precious materials in the world. Yet, beneath her snow-white skin—smooth as jade and fairer than frost or snow—this resplendent robe was rendered utterly lackluster. Such a garment, which elsewhere would leave people dumbfounded, failed to draw even a sliver of Yun Che's attention. His eyes were fixed on the girl's face, unable to look away for a long time. Especially her eyes... it was as if all the clear, shimmering waves under heaven were condensed into those dreamlike, enchanting pupils, transforming into a poetic, ethereal, immortal charm.
This was the fairy-like figure he had glimpsed before losing consciousness... and it was not an illusion, not a dream. She stood quietly there, her cicada-wing-like lashes fluttering. Her eyes, pure as a mountain spring and devoid of any impurity, held joy and a hint of tension as she looked at him. The gentle breeze lightly lifted the hem of her skirt—this simple grace surpassed even the most beautiful poetry in the world.
She appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with a dreamlike, exquisite beauty tinged with a tender, delicate innocence. Perhaps, in terms of elegance, she could not compare to Xia Qingyue, but when it came to the perfection and refinement of her features, even Xia Qingyue, recognized as the number one celestial maiden of Cang Feng, would be outshone by her. Among all the women Yun Che had seen in both of his lives, only Mo Li—who did not belong to this world—could match her in beauty. It was as if heaven had bestowed all its favor upon this face, upon this fairy-like girl.
If he were an ordinary mortal, he was sure his soul would have completely lost itself. But he was no ordinary man. In all of Tian Xuan Continent, there might never be a second person who could captivate him so utterly by appearance alone. He forced himself to look away, lowered his head slightly, and calmed his heart. When he looked up again and met this girl's celestial face, it was still indescribably beautiful. But he no longer lost his composure.
He parted his dry lips, and his voice, when it emerged, was hoarse and harsh: "Was it you... who saved me..."
"Hmm... I suppose so." The girl slightly pursed her petal-like lips and said in an uncertain tone: "This is my first time trying to save someone, so I don't know anything about it. For many days, I hesitated whether to tell Father Emperor. I'm glad you woke up. By the way, what's your name, which elder's disciple are you, and why did you fall off Feng Jue Cliff?"
The word "Father Emperor," which the girl inadvertently mentioned, caused a violent shock in Yun Che's heart.
Father Emperor...
A phoenix robe of the utmost luxury...
At the age of fifteen or sixteen...
And beauty so unreal...
Could it be that she is the "Snow Princess" that Hua Minghai spoke of, the one praised as the number one beauty of Tian Xuan!?
Back then, when Hua Minghai spoke of the "Snow Princess" in an exaggerated tone, Yun Che had dismissed it. But this girl before him... her beauty was fully worthy of the title "Number One Beauty of Tian Xuan."
But if she really was the Snow Princess, the most precious pearl of the Phoenix God Sect, the heavenly treasure of the entire Shenhuang Kingdom... then why was she here? She mentioned "many days," meaning he had been unconscious for several days, and she had been here all this time! What was going on? What was his current situation?
Yun Che's mind raced, various possibilities flashing through his thoughts. He shifted his body and said earnestly, with a hint of apprehension, "My name is Feng Lingyun. I am a disciple under the Nineteenth Elder. I was training alone in the Phoenix Mountains when I encountered a terrifying profound beast and was forced off Feng Jue Cliff... Thank you, Snow Princess, for saving my life."
The girl's eyes were clear and flawless, bright as stars. Facing such beautiful eyes, and a girl who had saved him, lying was undoubtedly a great sin. But, no matter what, with his severe injuries not yet healed, his top priority was to stay alive. He knew that the reason this girl had saved him and felt no wariness toward him was because he carried the same phoenix aura as her.
"I see..." The Snow Princess tilted her head with an innocent, naive expression, then her brows curved as she gave a soft laugh: "Just like Father Emperor said, you knew who I was right away. Father Emperor said that in the sect, although I've met very few people, all our clan members can instantly recognize me even if they've never seen me before."
The girl's smile was pure, like celestial music from the clouds, almost capable of washing away the most sinful heart in the world. Yun Che opened his mouth and said, "Princess, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. No one who sees the Snow Princess would mistake you... Where is this place? Am I... disturbing the Princess's secluded training?"
"This is Qifeng Valley. It's where I've grown up since I was little." The Snow Princess had absolutely no wariness toward Yun Che. She answered him naturally—perhaps his phoenix bloodline served as the best proof, or perhaps she was simply so innocent, having never encountered evil, that she never needed to be guarded: "Father Emperor has been very busy lately. Afraid that others might harm me, he sent me here to focus on cultivating the Phoenix Ode Scripture. This place, usually no one except Father Emperor and I can enter. You are the first."
"...Then, Princess, why didn't you tell... the Sect Master... about me? Aren't you afraid that I might be... a bad person?" Yun Che pressed his chest, calming his injuries as he spoke.
"I did think about telling Father Emperor." The girl lifted her exquisitely beautiful, jade-like nose: "But if Father Emperor knew, he would definitely have you killed. You fell from such a height and were already so badly hurt. If Father Emperor killed you too, that would be too pitiful. Little White would also be sad. Bad person? ... You're like me, a descendant of the phoenix. How could you be a bad person? And besides, Little White is so beautiful and so gentle, its owner couldn't possibly be a bad person."
What had saved Yun Che was not just her profound energy, but also her soft heart—even though he had intruded into her domain in a most abrupt manner. But... Little White? What did that mean?
A somewhat weak, but still clear cry came from his ear. At the sound, the Snow Princess softly exclaimed "Ah" and turned around. Her sprite-like figure ran nimbly toward a snowy white, magnificent figure: "Little White! Your wounds haven't healed yet, you mustn't move around, or you won't be good... Even if you see your master awake, you can't move recklessly."
Less than ten zhang behind Yun Che, the Snow Phoenix Beast was perched on the ground, its wings spread wide. The bloodstains on it had been washed clean, leaving not a trace of blood. The Snow Princess stood beside it, gently stroking its soft, cool snow-feathers with her small, snow-white hand. It calmed down from its agitation and obediently settled, carefully folding its wings back.
Yun Che was extremely surprised... It was the Snow Phoenix Beast! It was unharmed! Falling from such a height, his own body could only barely withstand it, but the Snow Phoenix Beast had already been unconscious when it fell, unable to use its levitation or defensive abilities. Plummeting straight down from such a height, it should have been shattered to pieces. Why did it seem to be far less injured than him?
Could it be that this girl had saved it before it hit the ground?
Then, "Little White" that she mentioned was... the Snow Phoenix Beast, Xiao Chan!?