Chapter 425: The Sacred Grounds Arrive (Part 1)
"Kid, I have to say, I admire your guts and your thick skin. If it were me, forget about going alone—just being at the Earth Xuan Realm... heh heh, I wouldn't have the face to step into this arena." Feng Zhanyun sneered mockingly. Suddenly, his expression shifted as he turned his gaze toward the central main seats, his voice growing excited: "The Sect Master, the Young Sect Master, and the Grand Elder are here... ah..."
As he spoke, Feng Zhanyun's breath suddenly quickened, his eyes staring straight and rigid, his voice trembling: "Ah... ah ah ah... that is... could it be... Snow Princess!?"
The vast arena, accommodating nearly three million people, would have even the sound of breathing combined thunderous, but at this moment, the enormous arena suddenly fell into absolute silence—so quiet that the drop of a pin could be heard, as if time had frozen. Everyone's gaze turned upward, fixed on the phoenix flames blazing in the sky.
The flames in the air took on the shape of a dancing phoenix, and atop the phoenix flames, over a dozen figures were slowly descending. In the seating area of the Fenghuang God Sect, all the sect's participants were already in place, including the princes, elders, hall masters, pavilion masters, and city lords. But the front fifteen seats in the Fenghuang God Sect's section were still vacant. And these fifteen seats were clearly positioned higher than those of the princes and elders!
Now, the occupants of these fifteen core seats had finally arrived.
The figures in the air stepped on the phoenix flames as they slowly descended. Among them were Feng Hengkong of the Fenghuang God Sect, Grand Elder Feng Feiyan, and the Young Sect Master, who was also the Crown Prince, Feng Ximing. The other ten were all the most powerful and prestigious individuals within the Fenghuang God Sect, including elders, palace masters, and city lords who had not yet revealed themselves in recent days. Their statuses were all at the level of a Sect Master.
And among the fifteen seats, the most eye-catching was a spot that, strictly speaking, should not have existed—a seat that was even higher than the main seat of the Sect Master, yet also equal to it. Sitting there was a girl clad in a fiery red dress. Her entire body seemed to be shrouded in layers of phoenix flames, ethereal and dreamlike. In her pair of autumn-water-like eyes, traces of divine light flickered, her brows carried a sacred air, and she exuded an indescribable elegance. She did not deliberately release any aura, but her presence alone was enough to make every gaze beneath her feel a sense of reverence, as if they were unworthy of looking directly at her.
This girl was none other than Feng Xue'er, the rumored "Feng Xue'er of the world's number one beauty," "the most dazzling genius in the history of the Fenghuang God Sect," and "the new Phoenix God of the Southern Domain." Her appearance instantly set off shockwaves throughout the entire arena. Even those who had long known of her beauty could not help but feel their minds waver, their scalps tingle, and their souls sink into a daze.
"Snow Princess... it's really Snow Princess! Ah... ah... I'm not dreaming, am I?" Feng Zhanyun's entire body trembled, his face flushed with excitement, as if he were drunk. "Since Snow Princess has been born, she has always cultivated behind closed doors and has never set foot in places like the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament. I never expected, never expected... that this year, Snow Princess would actually attend in person! Amazing... I can die without regrets!"
"Is she... very famous?" Yun Che asked casually.
"Famous?" Feng Zhanyun's eyes widened as he looked at Yun Che like he was an idiot. "That's the Snow Princess! The future Phoenix God of our Fenghuang God Sect! A grand figure that can shake the entire Southern Domain! And you ask if she's famous? Our Fenghuang God Sect was originally ranked third among the six divine sects of the Southern Domain. But because of Snow Princess, in just these few years, our sect's strength and reputation have soared, and we are now fully on par with the first-ranked Sun Moon Divine Palace! Even the Four Sacred Grounds had to give special permission, completely disregarding age restrictions, allowing Snow Princess to enter the Primordial Mystic Ark!"
"Is the Primordial Mystic Ark really that important?" Yun Che asked again.
"Are you an idiot? Even a three-year-old kid in the Southern Domain knows about the Primordial Mystic Ark!" Feng Zhanyun felt that asking Yun Che, a country bumpkin from a lower realm, these questions was a complete waste of breath. But out of admiration for the Snow Princess, he still explained impatiently: "The Primordial Mystic Ark is an ancient divine artifact passed down from the age of the gods. According to legend, it was left behind by a Creation God! Over the countless years, countless people from the Southern Domain, the Northern Domain, and even the Western Domain have wanted to enter it but could not find the way. The Four Sacred Grounds have been searching for it for a long time, and now they have finally found traces of it. This time, they specially held the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, combining the strength of the Southern Domain's six great divine sects to join forces and open the Primordial Mystic Ark!"
"Not only that, but the Four Sacred Grounds have also sworn an oath that the treasures obtained from the Primordial Mystic Ark will not be taken by them! They will all be distributed to the participating Divine Sons and girls! This is a god-bestowed luck that can only be encountered once in a thousand lifetimes! And my Snow Princess will definitely enter—when that time comes, ah... just thinking about it is exhilarating!"
Yun Che pondered for a moment, then asked: "This Primordial Mystic Ark is so important, but why would the Four Sacred Grounds give such a huge portion of the benefits to others? Could it be that opening the Primordial Mystic Ark requires a special kind of power or condition?"
"Hmph, you're not completely stupid after all." Feng Zhanyun glanced at him but still answered: "Opening the Primordial Mystic Ark requires a special power... I've heard it's the power of a divine beast's bloodline. The stronger the bloodline, the greater the chance of opening it. And among the entire Southern Domain, the one with the strongest divine beast bloodline is undoubtedly my Snow Princess! That's why the Four Sacred Grounds specifically invited her. Look at the Four Sacred Grounds' seating area—they're all empty. I'm guessing the people from the Four Sacred Grounds have already arrived, but they're just too proud to show themselves so early."
"If it's the power of a divine beast's bloodline, then..." Yun Che's eyes shifted. "What about our Fenghuang God Sect's ancestor, the Phoenix God? Does he not have the strongest bloodline? Or has he fallen?"
"What nonsense!" Feng Zhanyun's expression changed, and he glared angrily at Yun Che: "Our ancestor Phoenix God is a true primordial divine beast, a god who controls the laws of fire! He has lived for an unknown number of millions of years, and he is an existence that even the Four Sacred Grounds dare not provoke easily! How could a mere Primordial Mystic Ark force him to act! But say something like that again, and I'll make sure you can't even speak from now on!"
"Oh~~~" Yun Che responded casually, then fell into deep thought... According to Feng Zhanyun, the Ancestral Phoenix God was not only still alive but had infinite life and a deterrent force that even the Four Sacred Grounds had to fear.
But Mo Li had said with absolute certainty... that the Phoenix Spirit was already dead.
Could it be that the Fenghuang God Sect had been hiding the fact that the Phoenix Spirit had perished?
Very likely! After all, the existence of the Phoenix Spirit was a huge deterrent to the Four Sacred Grounds. If the news of the Phoenix Spirit's death got out, then the Fenghuang God Sect's greatest deterrence would be gone, and they would lose the qualifications to challenge the Four Sacred Grounds.
Below, the phoenix flames extinguished, and Feng Hengkong and the others had already landed, taking their seats in the main seats. Feng Xue'er sat beside Feng Hengkong, in a seat level with his! The others were all behind them. Yun Che silently watched Feng Xue'er's figure and let out a soft sigh in his heart... Xue'er, when you see me again, what will you be feeling? Will you be sad and heartbroken... If that happens, even I won't be able to forgive myself.
As for Feng Zhanyun, he had completely lost any intention of leaving. He stared straight at Feng Xue'er's dreamlike figure, his face full of infatuation and devotion... If someone tried to drag him away with a stick now, he probably wouldn't leave.
Feng Hengkong took his seat, glanced at the time, and then swept his eyes over the VIP seats of the Four Sacred Grounds, saying lightly: "The honored guests from the Sacred Grounds haven't arrived yet?"
"They always uphold their status and won't appear until the last moment. Sect Master, don't mind it. Their goal is the Primordial Mystic Ark; they won't not come." Feng Feiyan said expressionlessly. He was Feng Hengkong's direct elder brother, only seven years older than Feng Hengkong, but he looked twenty to thirty years older. With his level of cultivation, at over two hundred years old, he could easily look like he was twenty. But clearly, he did not deliberately use his profound energy to control his age appearance.
"Hmm." Feng Hengkong slowly nodded. "Since they are honored guests, we'll wait another quarter of an hour."
"Hahahaha, no need for a quarter of an hour. With the Phoenix Sacred Invitation, how could I, Ling, not come?"
A thunderous laugh rang out from above, sweeping through the entire arena like a gust of wind, causing everyone's eardrums to tremble violently. Following that, the immense pressure of an Overlord Emperor descended. A cyan figure flashed rapidly in the air, then landed like a ghost in the seating area of the "Tianwei Sword Domain."
When the voice sounded, Yun Che's heart stirred, because the voice was very familiar to him. And when the figure landed, Yun Che's brows twitched...
It really is Ling Kun!!
The same person who was invited by the Tian Jian Villa as a witness during the Cang Feng Ranking Tournament back then! At that time, he had even actively extended an olive branch to Yun Che, inviting him to join the Tianwei Sword Domain.
Unexpectedly, this time he was also the one representing the Tianwei Sword Domain at the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament.