Chapter 560: Fallen Flame Demon Art
“Be careful. The profound art this person cultivates is somewhat strange—his Golden Crow bloodline concentration is nearly a quarter of that little Demon Empress’s. If you don’t use your heavy sword, dealing with him won’t be so easy.” Mo Li suddenly spoke up.
Mo Li was the one who knew Yun Che’s strength best. Her warning was not something Yun Che could afford to disregard, so he slowly nodded.
Hearing Yun Che’s words, Prince Huiye gave a faint smile. “I’ve always prided myself on being arrogant, but this is the first time in my life I’ve met someone even more arrogant than I am—and right in front of me, no less.”
Yun Che nodded and said with a straight face, “I understand. I very much understand. Your Highness Prince Huiye has probably rarely left Yaohuang City in his entire life, so it’s only natural that you have such limited experience. There’s a saying—‘looking at the sky from the bottom of a well’ or ‘overestimating one’s own abilities’—I think it fits you perfectly. Your Highness should learn to reflect on yourself and get out more to see the world in the future. Otherwise, being a laughingstock is one thing, but the taste of slapping your own face is quite unpleasant.”
When it came to life experience, Prince Huiye was far inferior to Yun Che; when it came to the art of cutting insults, he couldn’t even compare to Yun Che’s little toe. The faint smile on his face froze instantly, and a cold light flickered in his eyes. He sneered contemptuously, “If you had just stayed put, I wouldn’t have even glanced at you. With your strength, you might have actually gained some fame in the future. But you insist on throwing your life away... Talking to an idiot who doesn’t know when he’s dead is a complete waste of time and breath... Watch me tear your mouth apart right now!”
Prince Huiye extended his right arm, his five fingers forming a claw, as profound energy surged throughout his body. Without any visible movement, a mass of black-red flame suddenly appeared ten zhang in front of him, hurtling fiercely toward Yun Che’s face.
The Golden Crow Flame was no ordinary profound flame. Thus, its color did not change with the growth of one’s profound force in the same way as ordinary profound flames. Low-level Golden Crow Flame, like low-level Phoenix Flame, appeared as a blazing red mixed with a hint of gold. The higher the concentration of Golden Crow bloodline, the richer the gold became, while pure Golden Crow Flame was a clean, pure gold.
Prince Huiye possessed the Golden Crow bloodline, so naturally he could ignite low-grade Golden Crow Flame. But the flame he now summoned... was an eerie black-red! And the black dominated. The flame before him gave Yun Che no sense of scorching heat; instead, it carried a bone-piercing, heart-stabbing chill. Wherever the black-red flame passed, the tough profound jade floor below instantly turned charred black... This blackening wasn’t from being burned—it was clearly from corrosion!
Because the Illusion Demon Royal Clan possessed the Golden Crow bloodline, most of them cultivated fire-based profound arts. Mo Li had just warned Yun Che that Prince Huiye’s profound art was bizarre... and now, it was indeed somewhat sinister.
“Is that... the Huai Wang Manor’s legendary ‘Fallen Flame Demon Art’?”
“That’s right! They say that when the Fallen Flame Demon Art is combined with the Golden Crow Flame, its power is second only to the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record! Although Prince Huiye is not yet thirty, it’s said his integration has reached an astonishing seventy percent... And as for Prince Huiran, they say he’s achieved nearly ninety percent integration!”
Even before the black-red flame appeared, Yun Che had already sensed the abnormal flow of the air currents. Though he was momentarily surprised, his will remained completely unshaken. He had seen flames of this color and nature before—it wasn’t his first encounter. Back in the Cang Yun Continent, when he was being hunted by the heroes of the world, he had witnessed all kinds of sinister profound arts. Not to mention black-red flames—pure black ghost flames, blood-colored devouring flames, and even emerald-green poison flames, he had seen countless times.
Without hesitation, Yun Che pushed out a palm. Under his Ice God Divine Art, the black-red flame rushing toward him abruptly stalled, struggled for less than half a breath, and then was forcibly frozen. Even its color rapidly shifted from black-red to an icy blue.
“Ah! He even sealed Prince Huiye’s demon flame!” Cries of shock arose from within the great hall.
Prince Huiye’s brow twitched slightly, then he gave a cold laugh. Black-red flames burst into a blaze around his body, and his outstretched fingers spread wider. Instantly, a thunderous explosion of qi sounded, and a surging wave of air spread violently outward from his body. A mass of black-red flame, three times more ferocious than before, blazed into being and shot straight at Yun Che. As it surged, it twisted rapidly into the shape of a massive skull, its terrifying jaws wide open, lunging down at Yun Che from above, accompanied by a wailing howl like that of a ghost.
A chilling aura instantly filled the entire hall. Some people with relatively low profound force shrank back, their gazes unfocused, as if their minds had been dragged into a freezing hell.
“W-What profound art is this? So terrifying!” Xiao Yun had long heard of Huai Wang Manor’s “Fallen Flame Demon Art,” but this was his first time seeing it. The sinister sensation that did not belong to flame made every bone in his body tremble. If just the aura alone was so frightening, he couldn’t imagine how terrifying the black-red flame’s power truly was.
The black-red skull flame possessed not only immense incineration and corrosion capabilities but could even directly interfere with the spirit. Darkness flickered before Yun Che’s eyes for an instant, but then clarity returned. Yet a hint of wariness gathered between his brows. He stepped back half a pace and raised his hand to point at the sky. A blue light met the approaching skull flame—the pure and flawless icy blue and the sinister black-red formed a stark contrast in midair.
Crack...
The scattered black-red sparks were rapidly frozen. The giant skull flame’s downward momentum slowed, then gradually halted. But the halt lasted only half a breath. A mournful roar like a demon’s wail suddenly erupted, followed by a loud explosion. The Ice God Divine Art’s seal was violently broken, shattering into countless shards of ice. The skull flame, carrying an eerie roar as if from the underworld, blasted directly at Yun Che’s face.
“Hahahaha!” Prince Huiye’s loud laughter rang out. “Your ice profound force is indeed somewhat interesting, but trying to seal my demon flame is nothing but a fool’s dream!”
Facing the skull demon flame that had broken through the Ice God Divine Art and was bearing down on him, Yun Che half-closed his eyes. Instead of hastily retreating, he pushed out a palm, unleashing a massive storm of profound force.
“Falling Moon and Sinking Star!”
BOOM!
The entire Yaohuang Great Hall trembled violently. A storm of profound force exploded in midair, surging and churning like a suddenly erupting tsunami. If this had been an ordinary hall instead of the Yaohuang Great Hall, the residual waves of profound force alone would have been enough to reduce it to complete ruins.
Under the exploding storm of profound force, the sinister flame skull also completely detonated. Black-red flame splattered everywhere, corroding the ceiling and floor into countless black marks, as dense as a beehive.
Yun Che’s body was also blasted backward by the exploding skull flame. After flying dozens of zhang, he landed steadily. His clothes were riddled with hundreds of holes of various sizes, the edges of each hole scorched black. But on his body, there were no visible wounds. The only thing noticeable was a small patch of shallow blackness on the back of his right hand.
Given Yun Che’s immunity to fire, he could even prevent his clothes from being burned by controlling it slightly. But Prince Huiye’s demon flame carried not only fire but also a terrifying corrosive property. Although Yun Che had shattered the skull demon flame, he had been splashed by a large amount of scattered sparks. These scattered demon flames weren’t enough to harm him, but his clothes had taken a beating.
“He blocked it... Yun Che actually blocked it!”
The moment the two had just clashed, the terror of Prince Huiye’s demon flame had already shocked many of the regional overlords present. What stunned everyone even more was that Yun Che, who had created the miracle of three consecutive victories, had completely blocked such a terrifying flame!
Watching Yun Che, who had been blasted back but seemed largely unharmed, a flash of surprise flickered deep in Prince Huiye’s eyes. But his face showed only a sneer. “Not bad, not bad. To think you could withstand sixty percent of my demon flame’s power. It seems I underestimated you a little. But looking at you now, all tattered and torn, how long do you think you can struggle?”
Scattered black-red flames were still falling from the air, hissing as they bore hole after hole into the ground. Yun Che glanced at the black mark on the back of his hand and said flatly, “The Golden Crow Flame is a divine beast’s flame, yet you have merged it into such a demonic art heavy with killing intent. This is a desecration of the Golden Crow Flame. If your Golden Crow Ancestor were here, he would certainly cleanse his own sect!”
Prince Huiye was not angered; instead, he sneered, “The flames of our Huai Wang Manor are not something a piece of trash like you is qualified to judge. The Heavenly Fallen Demon Flame is a peerless profound art second only to the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record in this world. Now that the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record can never appear again, the Fallen Flame Demon Art of my Huai Wang Manor, combined with the Golden Crow Flame, is the mightiest profound art, the mightiest flame, the mightiest power in the Huan Yao Realm! In the face of my flame, all you can do is wail and struggle!”
“Mightiest flame?” Yun Che laughed. “A demonic flame like yours, which defiles the Golden Crow’s fire, dares to style itself the mightiest flame?”
With a low shout, Yun Che raised his arm. Crimson Phoenix Flame blazed fiercely in his palm. As his hand thrust forward, the Phoenix Flame transformed into a crimson arrow, carrying a sharp and lofty Phoenix cry as it shot toward Prince Huiye.
Yun Che possessed the Phoenix bloodline, and the Phoenix Flame was a core component of his power. He had always held reverence and gratitude for this divine power bestowed by the Phoenix Soul. But the man before him, who carried the thin Golden Crow bloodline, dared to merge that flame—equal to the Phoenix Flame—into such a sinister demonic art. This stirred an uncontrollable anger in Yun Che’s heart.
“Fire? H-How is it fire? Didn’t Yun Che use only ice-based profound arts before? How can he also burn profound flames?”
“Could it be that Yun Che has also cultivated a fire-based profound art? T-This... Water and fire are completely opposing elements. Cultivating both water and fire profound arts at the same time is highly likely to cause profound energy chaos or even damage the profound veins! Even if he could control it perfectly, he can only release one at a time; they can never cooperate or complement each other, and danger could erupt at any moment...”
Seeing Yun Che suddenly release profound flames, Prince Huiye first froze, then broke into loud laughter. “Ahahaha! So you actually cultivate both ice and fire profound arts? I never thought there was truly such a ridiculous idiot in this world! I’ve really broadened my horizons today... And your profound flame is only at the mere red level, yet you dare show off in front of me!”
The lowest profound flame was orange, a slightly higher level was red. Generally, by the later stage of the Spirit Xuan Realm, an adept could burn blue profound flames. The red flame Yun Che released was not even worth a joke in Prince Huiye’s eyes. Amidst his wild laughter, he casually grabbed at the blazing red flame shooting toward him...