# Chapter 467: Unrelenting Haunt
"Who are you? Where are you?" Yun Che shouted upward. Since the other party could sense his existence and transmit sound to him, they must also be able to hear his voice.
But just like the previous two times, after that voice sounded, it fell silent again, with no further activity for a long time. All three voices were equally faint, barely audible. Yet Yun Che had a vague feeling... the source of the voice seemed not far from him.
"Brother Yun, did you hear that strange voice again?" Feng Xue'er asked.
"Mm." Yun Che nodded, then comforted her: "Xue'er, don't be afraid. It might just be an illusion from me being too nervous. This place is so ancient and quiet—there shouldn't be anyone here."
"With Brother Yun by my side, I'm not afraid." Feng Xue'er said with a smile. But recalling what she had said earlier, her expression dimmed again as she murmured: "Brother Yun, how is the other great Phoenix God? Is it well?"
"It should be fine." Yun Che thought for a moment and replied: "The Phoenix spirit I encountered told me that its power was weaker than the Phoenix spirit of your Fenghuang God Sect. Your Phoenix God was severely injured back then and has since passed away. The one I encountered, though it didn't die at the time, must have also suffered great damage to its vitality. At least three years ago, it still existed peacefully." He paused, then said: "If Xue'er wishes, I can take you to visit that Phoenix spirit someday."
"Great, great!" Feng Xue'er agreed joyfully, then said: "That is also one of the wishes left by the great Phoenix God. By the way, Brother Yun, how did you encounter that great Phoenix God? Can you tell me?"
Yun Che lifted his face, a nostalgic expression appearing on it. This was a secret he had never shared with anyone before, but facing Feng Xue'er's clear eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. With a faint smile and a gentle voice, he began: "That was three years ago... at that time, my profound power had only just reached the Xuan Entry Realm. I was being hunted by someone from a branch sect of a sect called the Xiao Sect, and my current princess wife saved me... but back then, she wasn't my wife yet, and we had only just met... She fled with me, and later, the flying profound beast we were riding exhausted its power and was attacked by our pursuer, so we fell from the sky together..."
As Yun Che recalled the scene from back then, he slowly narrated for Feng Xue'er. At first, his voice was fairly calm, but gradually, deep emotion crept into every word. After all, this was an unforgettable experience for him and Cang Yue—their feelings for each other had deepened through that ordeal. Likewise, it was a major turning point in his destiny. Without that experience, there would have been no subsequent series of events, no grudges and debts brought by the Phoenix Flame, and no version of himself standing here today.
Yun Che spoke for a long time, from how he entered the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range all the way to how he left that Phoenix trial ground. When he finally finished, he lowered his head and saw that Feng Xue'er had her lips lightly pressed together, her breathing soft and orchid-like—she had already fallen asleep.
After the heavy blows, the long escape and fright, plus her complete lack of strength, Feng Xue'er—though held safely in Yun Che's arms—was utterly exhausted in both spirit and body. In the sound of his voice, her mind had finally relaxed bit by bit, and she couldn't hold back her weariness, drifting off to sleep without realizing it.
Yun Che softened his breathing and silently gazed at Feng Xue'er as she slept lightly. For a moment, he was completely entranced. Gradually, fatigue washed over him; he leaned his head against the cold wall and, without noticing, also fell asleep.
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"Please... find... her..."
"Only... you... can... save... her..."
"Please... find... her..."
"Ah!" Yun Che jolted awake, the voice echoing in his ears for a long time. This time, he couldn't even tell whether it was a real sound or a voice from a dream.
"Brother Yun..." Whether it was his sudden movement that woke her or she had already woken on her own, Feng Xue'er's exquisite eyes flickered as she gazed at him without blinking.
"It's nothing," Yun Che shook his head. "It's just that I seemed to hear that strange voice again."
As soon as he finished speaking, something occurred to Yun Che. He frowned deeply and asked in his heartsea: "Mo Li, how long did I sleep? How many hours have passed since we entered the Primordial Mystic Ark?"
"You haven't slept that long. As for the time since entering the Primordial Mystic Ark... eleven hours... maybe a bit more."
"Eleven hours?" Yun Che's brow twitched slightly. That meant there was less than an hour before the Primordial Mystic Ark would close. And he suddenly remembered what True Person Gu Cang had said to Xia Yuanba when they first entered the Ark—when the Ark was about to close, one must absolutely not be in any enclosed environment, not even a gorge or a cave! Otherwise, the force field at the twelfth hour would be cut off, and they wouldn't be ejected from the Ark!
And then they would vanish along with the Ark, forever buried within it!
And the place where he and Feng Xue'er were now was truly an isolated environment.
Having slept for a while, Yun Che's physical strength and profound power had recovered to about fifty or sixty percent. He picked up Feng Xue'er and said: "Xue'er, it's time for us to leave. In less than an hour, the Primordial Mystic Ark will close, and we can go out. Then we'll be completely safe."
"Mm." Feng Xue'er responded softly, instinctively pressing her body closer to Yun Che.
"Let's go."
Yun Che raised his hand and sent a stream of profound energy toward the profound formation beside the stone door. The formation flashed with profound light, and the tightly shut stone door rumbled open rapidly. Yun Che carried Feng Xue'er out, and immediately saw the stone staircase leading downward. He had chosen to enter the stone door beside the staircase earlier, suppressing his curiosity to go deeper for fear of getting lost. After all, this place was too vast, with a monotonous layout and color scheme—one wrong turn and they could be completely lost.
Descending the stone stairs, Yun Che's heart calmed slightly. The Primordial Mystic Ark would close soon. Once outside, with the Fenghuang God Sect and True Person Gu Cang present, Ye Xinghan and Feng Feiyan would never succeed. This crisis had finally been weathered, albeit with some fright. His only worry now was Xia Yuanba. He had a teleportation jade on him, which should theoretically allow him to escape with his life, but Yun Che couldn't help fearing that he would risk his life to buy Yun Che more time to get away.
Soon, they were halfway down the stone stairs, with the vast first-floor hall in full view. At this moment, Mo Li suddenly spoke in a deep voice: "Truly an unrelenting haunt."
"Unrelenting haunt? What do you mean?" Yun Che was startled, slowing his steps. As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body went cold... he felt himself firmly locked onto by an aura!
Yun Che whipped his head around, looking back toward the direction he had come from. In the dim light, he saw a blurry figure charging toward him at incredible speed.
Ye Xinghan!!
The moment Yun Che spotted him, Ye Xinghan had already seen Yun Che and the Feng Xue'er in his arms. His originally gloomy eyes suddenly blazed with strange light, and an expression of joy bordering on madness appeared on his face. "Ha... hahahaha! I had already given up, but heaven still favors me! Hahaha..."
Yun Che had never expected that, with less than an hour before the Ark closed, in this mysterious, deathly silent ancient castle, he would run into Ye Xinghan again. His gaze hardened, and without a second thought, he turned and rushed upward at top speed.
"This time, where do you think you're going?!"
Ye Xinghan's speed was like lightning. In his eyes, once Yun Che had fallen into his line of sight, there was simply no possibility of escape. Seeing Yun Che bolt toward the second floor, he grinned savagely, swung his arm, and a streak of blindingly white profound light shot out from his Sun and Moon Calamity, aiming directly at Yun Che's legs... clearly, he was afraid of accidentally injuring Feng Xue'er.
Yun Che's figure flickered, instantly dodging with Star God Remnant Shadow. The profound light struck the stone stair railing, emitting a piercing "clang." The surrounding airflow was heavily disturbed, but the spot hit by the profound light remained completely undamaged, without even a scratch.
The bricks and stones here were indeed terrifyingly tough. Not just Yun Che—even someone as powerful as Ye Xinghan couldn't damage them in the slightest.
"Hurry and hide in the stone chamber! With your speed, there's no way you can outrun him!" Mo Li said in a deep voice.
Even without Mo Li's reminder, Yun Che would have done the same. Under these circumstances, it was his only choice. He rushed to the second floor at top speed, then made a beeline for the courtyard he had stayed in before. As he approached the stone door, Ye Xinghan had already reached the second floor, less than twenty zhang behind him. He sneered contemptuously: "Still trying to run?"
Ye Xinghan's palm thrust forward, sending a violent blast of profound energy straight at Yun Che's back.
A heavy sense of danger came from behind. Yun Che had no time to turn around. He quickly shielded Feng Xue'er in his arms, pouring all his profound power into defense...
"Cloud-Sealing Sun-Locking!"
Boom!!!
A chaotic explosion of air pressure rang out. The barrier on Yun Che's body lasted barely a single breath before shattering completely, but it also blocked most of the impact. However, the residual force was still unbearable for Yun Che. He spat out a large mouthful of blood and his body was propelled forward by the shockwave, flying like a beam of light into a stone chamber, crashing heavily into the wall inside... but as he fell, with immense willpower he steadied his mind, quickly extended his arm, and pushed a stream of profound energy toward the formation beside the stone door.
Rumble...
The stone door slammed shut, sealing Ye Xinghan outside.
Yun Che lay on his back, gasping heavily, his outstretched arm retracting with difficulty. His back had been struck by Ye Xinghan's force, and then he had slammed hard into the stone wall. His blood energy was in turmoil, his internal organs severely displaced, and blood kept trickling from the corners of his mouth. Still, to withstand a three-tenths power strike from a mid-stage Overlord Emperor with the strength of a late-stage King Xuan realm cultivator and survive—only Yun Che in all the world could do that.
Throughout the entire process, he had strived to protect Feng Xue'er, leaving her completely unharmed. But she was so frightened and worried she was almost in tears: "Brother Yun, are you okay... are you okay, Brother Yun..."
"I... I'm fine..." Yun Che gasped heavily, then struggled to sit up. He helped Feng Xue'er up beside him, letting her lean against his shoulder as they both rested against the cold stone wall. "I'm fine, just a minor injury."
Bang! Boom! Ding! Clang! Boom...
All kinds of pounding sounds came from the direction of the stone door, less than ten paces away. But whether it was the door or the walls, they didn't budge an inch under the ferocious assault. Yun Che took Feng Xue'er's hand and comforted her: "Xue'er, don't worry. He can't get in."
"Mm..." Feng Xue'er leaned on Yun Che's shoulder, clutching his arm with both hands, holding tightly.