Chapter 458: The Phoenix-Sealing Forbidden Array
The frivolous tone in Ye Xinghan's voice was extremely heavy, and his gaze was filled with naked possessiveness. Yesterday at the ranking battle arena, although he had been arrogant, he was nowhere near this level. Under his gaze, Feng Xue'er felt a wave of discomfort throughout her entire body. She replied, "Young Palace Master Ye, your status is noble, so Xue'er dares not address you casually... If Young Palace Master Ye has no other business, Xue'er will continue her stroll."
Having said that, Feng Xue'er turned to leave, not wanting to bother with Ye Xinghan any longer. But Ye Xinghan chuckled and said, "Sister Xue'er, don't be in such a hurry to leave. This young master has a very important matter... As early as three years ago, I heard that Sister Xue'er's beauty was unparalleled in the world, so I have long been longing to see your immortal countenance with my own eyes. Yesterday at the arena, with so many eyes watching, even though I desired it a thousand times, I couldn't bear to have Sister Xue'er's immortal face tainted by the gazes of those common mortals."
"I wonder if today, Sister Xue'er can fulfill this wish of mine?"
"I'm afraid I must refuse. My appearance is coarse and unworthy of Young Palace Master Ye's eyes." Feng Xue'er replied with the same calm tone and exact words as yesterday. The Ye Xinghan before her evoked a strong sense of disgust within her for the first time in her life.
Ye Xinghan, however, was not angered in the slightest. Instead, he burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha, very well. Although today is different from yesterday, there are still two clueless brats spoiling the mood. But I'm in no hurry. After all, it won't be long before Sister Xue'er belongs to me alone, Ye Xinghan. By then, your beauty will be seen only by me under the moonlight, enjoyed in solitude—that will be a truly beautiful sight. Hahaha."
Yun Che: "..."
"You..." Feng Xue'er was furious. "You are the Young Palace Master of the Sun Moon Divine Palace! How can you talk such nonsense!"
"Nonsense? Heh..." Ye Xinghan leered. "I never talk nonsense, especially when it comes to Sister Xue'er. My visit to the Fenghuang God Sect this time is not at all for the Seven Nations Ranking Battle or the Primordial Mystic Ark. It's for you... my Xue'er. Once the Ark trip is over, I will immediately propose to your father, my future father-in-law, to betroth you to me. By then, we will be husband and wife, and I will make sure you belong only to me, with no other man even daring to hope to touch your beauty."
Feng Xue'er's voice turned hurried, and beneath her Phoenix Jade Glazed Veil, her snow-white face had turned a shade of pink from anger. "You... you're talking nonsense! I won't... become your wife! My father will never agree! If you keep talking nonsense, I will get angry!"
"Even when my Xue'er is angry, her voice is still so pleasant to hear." Ye Xinghan's laughter was sinister, his demeanor arrogant and confident, as if everything was already within his grasp. "But I, Ye Xinghan, have never failed to get what I want. When I decide something... heh, even your father, Feng Hengkong, will have no choice but to agree!"
"Shut up!"
A thunderous voice suddenly rang out from the air. Following that, a figure flickered and appeared like lightning in front of Feng Xue'er, glaring at Ye Xinghan. "Young Palace Master Ye, our Fenghuang God Sect has always respected the Sacred Grounds and welcomed you as a distant guest. But I never expected you to speak such wild words and insult Xue'er and our Sect Master! What is your intention!"
"Grand Elder." Seeing the sudden figure, Feng Xue'er exclaimed softly. "Why are you here? Weren't you with Father and the others..."
Feng Feiyan turned his face and smiled faintly. "The Sect Master was worried about you being alone, so he asked me to protect you secretly. I didn't expect... hmph, that someone would actually dare to offend you while we're away. Rest assured, Xue'er, even if he is the Young Palace Master of the Sun Moon Divine Palace, if he dares to offend you, I will not let him off."
"Thank you, Grand Elder." Feng Xue'er said softly. With the Grand Elder present, her tension and anger eased somewhat.
"Brother-in-law, what's going on... Um, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with us, does it?" Xia Yuanba said quietly.
Yun Che said nothing, his gaze growing heavier and heavier... but at this moment, his eyes were not fixed on Ye Xinghan, but on Feng Feiyan. Because from him, he suddenly felt something was off. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what, but it was an instinctive feeling.
"Oh! Isn't this the Phoenix Grand Elder? Not off exploring the so-called ancient treasures, but here instead? How surprising." Ye Xinghan said with a smirk. "This young master has no intention of offending your Fenghuang God Sect. I merely wish to marry my Xue'er."
"Give up," Feng Feiyan said with a dark face. "Xue'er is not only a princess of the Shenhuang Empire, but also the one personally chosen by our Phoenix God, a direct inheritor of the Phoenix God's power! No one in this world is worthy of her. The Sect Master will never agree."
"Not agree? Hahaha..." Ye Xinghan laughed disdainfully. "Then how exactly will you not agree? Do you really think the Fenghuang God Sect of today is still the same as before?"
Feng Feiyan's expression changed slightly. "Ye Xinghan, what do you mean by that!"
"What do I mean? Grand Elder should know better than I do," Ye Xinghan sneered. "Your Fenghuang God Sect has indeed grown at an astonishing pace. In just five thousand years, you've begun to approach the level of the Sacred Grounds. Moreover, with the existence of your 'Phoenix God,' the Four Sacred Grounds dared not suppress you and could only let you develop. After all, your Phoenix God is the only deity in this Tian Xuan Continent that has truly touched the realm of Divine Profound. With the Phoenix God's protection, if you had another five thousand years, you might even have surpassed the level of the Sacred Grounds."
"But unfortunately, your greatest protection has vanished. Do you really think we don't know that the Phoenix God died three years ago? Without the Phoenix God, what right do you have to challenge the Sacred Grounds?"
"Ah!" Ye Xinghan's words made Feng Xue'er gasp in shock. Feng Feiyan's face changed drastically, and he shouted, "Nonsense! The Phoenix God of our Fenghuang God Sect is a sacred phoenix spirit with eternal life, who will never die! You... how dare you speak such blasphemy!"
"Hahaha, Phoenix Grand Elder, you know better than I do whether the Phoenix God is alive or dead. Running a large sect with such self-deception—don't you find it ridiculous and shameful? Heh... Do you think that without the Phoenix God, the Four Sacred Grounds will allow your Fenghuang God Sect to continue developing?"
"You..." Feng Feiyan's expression turned extremely ugly.
"This young master has taken a liking to Sister Xue'er—that is a great blessing to your Fenghuang God Sect!" Ye Xinghan extended his hand, palm up, his posture as arrogant as an emperor who had conquered the world. "In the future, I will be the ruler of the Sun Moon Divine Palace. If my Sun Moon Divine Palace and your Fenghuang God Sect form a marriage alliance, the other three Sacred Grounds will have to think twice before suppressing you. But if this marriage alliance fails..."
Ye Xinghan slowly turned his palm downward, revealing a sinister smile. "Then my other methods might not be so gentle. As for your Fenghuang God Sect, let alone being suppressed, whether it will even exist a thousand years from now is uncertain... Grand Elder, you must have heard of the Eternal Night Royal Clan a thousand years ago. Tsk, tsk, such a large royal clan was destroyed just like that. In only a thousand years, even their traces vanished, and even their name has been completely forgotten... How pitiful and regrettable."
Every word from Ye Xinghan seemed to stab at Feng Feiyan's vital points, making him tremble all over. Feng Xue'er's face also turned paler. Although she rarely concerned herself with sect affairs and knew little about the profound world's structure, she knew that the fall of the Phoenix God was a colossal secret that must never be leaked outside the sect. Only a handful of people within the entire sect knew about it...
Why did Ye Xinghan know!
"Truly... nonsense!" Feng Feiyan clenched his fists, his fists blazing with phoenix flames, his entire body radiating a violent aura of profound force. "Ye Xinghan! For the words you just spoke, even if you were the son of the heavens themselves, I would kill you!"
"Oh? Are you going to kill me to silence me out of fury? Hahaha..." Ye Xinghan threw his head back and laughed wildly. "Then come! Let me see what the so-called Phoenix Grand Elder is made of!"
"You're asking for death!" Feng Feiyan roared, the flames on his hands flaring up again as his profound energy surged wildly... It was clear that in his rage, he had fully mobilized all his power.
The aura of a high-level Overlord Emperor was so oppressive that Yun Che could hardly breathe. But his sense of unease reached its peak at that moment. Watching Feng Feiyan's movements, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he roared, "Yuan Ba, watch out!"
"Huh?" Xia Yuanba was startled. But the instant Yun Che's voice fell, Feng Feiyan, who had gathered all his strength, suddenly turned around and swung his palm... To Yun Che's utter shock, his attack was not aimed at Xia Yuanba, but at Feng Xue'er!!
In that instant, Yun Che's pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints. Even though he had sensed something wrong, he could never have imagined that Feng Feiyan's target would be neither him nor Xia Yuanba, but Feng Xue'er!
A sudden strike at full power from a high-level Overlord Emperor—let alone Yun Che, even Xia Yuanba couldn't react in time, and even if he could, he couldn't block it. Moreover, Feng Xue'er, who was right behind Feng Feiyan, would never have dreamed that Feng Feiyan, who had always cared for her and was the most trusted person by both her and Feng Hengkong, would suddenly attack her... Especially since she was less than five steps away from Feng Feiyan!
Her pupils only trembled once before she could make any reaction, and then Feng Feiyan's palm slammed heavily into her chest. In an instant, the blood-red jade stone that Feng Feiyan had been secretly holding in his hand shattered completely. Under his power, a blood-red profound array was released and firmly imprinted onto Feng Xue'er's body.
Feng Xue'er's body flew up like a willow leaf caught in a gentle breeze, and the phoenix crown on her head was flung far away.
"Xue'er!"
Instead of the expected roar of profound energy, Yun Che was shocked beyond measure. In a flash, he charged forward, catching Feng Xue'er in his arms, and then, stepping on Star God Remnant Shadow, he appeared twenty zhang away in an instant. At the same time, he shouted, "Yuan Ba, hold him off!"
Xia Yuanba also reacted at that moment. His eyes widened, and he threw a punch at Feng Feiyan. With a single explosive sound, both of them were sent flying far apart. Xia Yuanba spun in midair and landed in front of Yun Che and Feng Xue'er, his fists trembling slightly. Feng Feiyan, however, floated slowly to Ye Xinghan's side, a sinister and unrestrained smile on his face.
"Xue'er... Xue'er, are you okay... Xue'er!" Yun Che cradled Feng Xue'er's soft body, calling out urgently. But he immediately noticed that there was no sign of injury on her. However, her aura of power had completely vanished—he could not sense a trace of profound energy!
"The Phoenix-Sealing Forbidden Array..." Without the phoenix crown to conceal her, Yun Che once again saw Feng Xue'er's flawless countenance. Her face was deathly pale, her beautiful eyes trembling violently, filled with panic, confusion, and disbelief. She tilted her head slightly in Yun Che's arms, looking at Feng Feiyan, who now stood beside Ye Xinghan, and uttered a voice as ethereal as a dream: "Grand Elder... why... would you do this..."
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