# Chapter 612: The Last Hope
Cang Feng Empire, Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
"A bunch of naive women! Do you think a mere Tianpan Jade can stop us?! Open the door now and hand over Xia Qingyue, and I might spare your lives. After all, if our Young Master knew so many beauties had died, he would be very heartbroken... But if you persist in your stubbornness, once I blast open this door, you will all... die!"
Boom!!
The green-robed man slammed his fist heavily against the door before him, producing a deafening thunderous roar. The exploding Profound Force caused the surrounding space to churn violently. Yet the door he had struck with such force remained completely unscathed.
"Damn it!" The green-robed man stepped back, his entire right arm trembling, his wrist throbbing with intense pain. His expression turned gloomy as he said, "This Bing Yun Fairy Palace not only has a bizarre protective palace grand formation... but also a hall entirely constructed from Tianpan Jade! What utter nonsense! Even the Fenghuang God Sect of the Shenhuang Empire might not be able to produce this much Tianpan Jade!"
A Half-step Overlord Emperor who was barely over twenty years old, and a defensive profound formation that had lasted seven days, preventing them from breaking through no matter what they tried... These were things they could never have dreamed of before coming here. After finally waiting for that defensive profound formation to disappear, they thought they could immediately control the fate of everyone in Bing Yun Fairy Palace with a wave of their hand... Who would have thought that they would instead retreat into an underground hall... And the material used to build this hall was none other than Tianpan Jade—extremely hard, and even as Overlord Emperors, they found it nearly impossible to destroy!
The door sealing the hall was at least two feet thick... Two feet of Tianpan Jade. Even if the twelve of them attacked it day and night together, there was absolutely no way they could break through it in a short time.
"I doubt even the Young Master knows that the Bing Yun Fairy Palace has a hall made of Tianpan Jade." The purple-robed elder said in a deep voice. "With just the two of us, it's impossible to break through this door in a short time. We might need to use a Sound Transmission Talisman to inform the Young Master and have an Emperor Lord elder come here!"
"No!!"
The green-robed man waved his hand abruptly: "Two Overlord Emperors, leading ten Thrones, coming to this tiny Liu Yun Kingdom to capture a single woman, and we can't even complete the mission? We'd need an elder's help? Then what face would we have to return! Hmph! Those people who usually look down on us would laugh us into dogs!"
"The Young Master is in seclusion this time and won't emerge for at least half a year. Hah, I don't believe that in half a year... I can't break through this Tianpan Jade!!"
————————————
The sound of heavy pounding against the palace door continued to echo, accompanied by furious shouts. Inside the Bingyi Divine Hall, all the Bing Yun disciples were trapped. The Bingyi Divine Hall was exceptionally spacious; the two thousand Bing Yun disciples inside were not at all crowded, but rather felt somewhat empty... and desolate.
At the back of the Bingyi Divine Hall, placed a transparent ice coffin. Inside the ice coffin lay an elderly woman with half-white hair. She had no breath left, but her expression was not one of peace—it was shrouded in a thick haze of resentment and gloom.
She was no ordinary Bing Yun disciple. She was the previous Palace Master of Bing Yun Fairy Palace, and now the Supreme Palace Master... Feng Qianhui.
Around the ice coffin knelt several Bing Yun women surrounded by ice spirits, their heads bowed in soft weeping. Every thread of air within the Bingyi Divine Hall carried deep sorrow.
"The millennium calamity foretold by the Bing Yun Ancestor... we still could not escape it... cough... cough..." Gong Yuxian stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused. Her voice carried profound weakness, and with a violent fit of coughing, a streak of nearly black blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"Palace Master!"
"Palace Master!!"
The Bing Yun disciples cried out in alarm. Murong Qianxue and Mu Lanyi, who were supporting Gong Yuxian, quickly circulated their Profound Force to suppress her injuries. Gong Yuxian was severely wounded. Even with her current Sixth-level Throne Profound Force fully supporting her, she could at most live a few more months.
"The Supreme Palace Master, to help Bing Yun Fairy Palace survive this calamity, did not hesitate to break the thousand-year sect rule and allow Yun Che to enter the palace as the first male disciple... But in the end... man proposes, heaven disposes..."
"Palace Master..." Jun Lianqie pressed her hands against Gong Yuxian's chest, joining Murong Qianxue and Mu Lanyi in suppressing her injuries. After Yun Che had opened all their profound gates, their Profound Force cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. All seven of the Bing Yun Immortals had broken through to the King Xuan Realm, and the three of them had even surpassed Palace Master Gong Yuxian: "Palace Master, don't be too pessimistic. We still have the Bingyi Divine Hall protecting us. They can't break in... Someone will surely come to rescue us... We will find a way..."
As they spoke, these Bing Yun Immortals, beings regarded as celestial maidens in the eyes of the people of Cang Feng Empire, were already blurry-eyed with tears. Because they all knew deep down that by now, there was simply no one who could come to save them. This Bingyi Divine Hall was their last place to catch their breath... The moment the door was breached, they would fall into true hopelessness.
"They... are Overlord Emperors... The Bingyi Divine Hall... can only hold them off for a while... cough... cough... Qingyue, come here..." Gong Yuxian extended a pale hand.
"Palace Master." Xia Qingyue walked over and slowly knelt before Gong Yuxian.
"Qingyue..." Gong Yuxian looked at her, and in her unfocused eyes, a faint glimmer of hope finally lit up: "It's all my fault for being too selfish. Back then, I didn't agree to your request to go to Cangfeng Imperial City... Otherwise... you could have... escaped this calamity..."
"No..." Xia Qingyue shook her head: "This is not the Palace Master's fault. Over the years, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace has sent most of its resources to the Cangfeng Imperial City. This disciple is only filled with utmost gratitude..."
"Alas." Gong Yuxian let out a long sigh: "The Bing Yun Fairy Palace has enjoyed a thousand years of glory. I never thought that in my generation, it would come to such a state... I have failed the Supreme Palace Master, failed the ancestors, failed the Bing Yun Ancestor... But Qingyue, you are the most outstanding disciple in the history of Bing Yun Fairy Palace. You are only twenty-two years old now, yet your Profound Force cultivation has already surpassed that of the Bing Yun Ancestor in her time... As long as you live... as long as you exist... our Bing Yun Fairy Palace will not perish... The Bing Yun Art and the Ice God Divine Art... will not vanish... and may even... rise again..."
Xia Qingyue's head snapped up, a note of panic in her voice: "Palace Master..."
"Use the escape profound formation left by the Bing Yun Ancestor... Leave now!!" Gong Yuxian urged in a rapid voice: "You alone... are most worthy of using that escape profound formation... Only if you escape does our Bing Yun Fairy Palace have any hope of rising again! Go!!"
The "escape profound formation" Gong Yuxian spoke of was the one Yun Che had asked Xia Qingyue about when he first entered the Bingyi Divine Hall. It had been left behind by the Bing Yun Ancestor before her passing. No one knew where it led. It was only to be used to escape in times of great crisis, and it could only accommodate one person at a time. Once activated, the formation would disappear and take a full hundred years to regenerate.
Of the two thousand Bing Yun disciples trapped in the Bingyi Divine Hall, only one could leave through this escape profound formation.
All eyes were fixed on Xia Qingyue. Not a single woman felt jealousy or resentment, because if only one person could escape, everyone agreed that Xia Qingyue was the only choice. She was the brightest hope of Bing Yun Fairy Palace. Only if she escaped could there be a chance to revive Bing Yun, a chance to avenge today's calamity in the future.
"No..." Xia Qingyue shook her head forcefully: "I am a disciple of Bing Yun. I should live and die with the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. How can I abandon the Palace Master, my Master, my Senior Uncles and Aunts, and all my sisters' safety to escape alone..."
"This is not the time for your pride!" Gong Yuxian shouted loudly: "If you still consider yourself a disciple of Bing Yun Fairy Palace, then flee this place immediately and make yourself... the last hope of Bing Yun Fairy Palace... Your life... is the last hope of Bing Yun Fairy Palace..."
"But..."
"No buts!!" Gong Yuxian's voice trembled: "This is the Palace Master's order. As a disciple of Bing Yun, you must not disobey!! If you do not leave... are you trying to make the Supreme Palace Master die with her eyes open... to destroy the last hope of Bing Yun Fairy Palace?!"
"Qingyue..." Chu Yueli walked over and held Xia Qingyue's shoulder: "Use the escape profound formation to leave. This is not only the Palace Master's order, but also the wish of all of us..." She closed her eyes, her voice growing soft: "As your master, I hope even more... that in the future, you will not burden yourself with the heavy task of reviving Bing Yun and seeking revenge. Just live well... pass on the Bing Yun Art and the Ice God Divine Art... and that will be enough..."
"Qingyue, listen to the Palace Master and your master. Activate the profound formation left by the Ancestor." Murong Qianxue spoke softly.
"Qingyue, you must live well. Never come back... In the future, just remember us from time to time." Feng Hanyue and Feng Hanxue spoke with tear-filled eyes.
"Junior Sister Xia, after you leave here, never return..."
"Senior Sister Xia... take good care of yourself. We will all bless you..."
………………
………………
Beams of crystalline, diamond-like gazes poured onto Xia Qingyue, causing her emotional strings to tremble heavily. She bit her lip, still shaking her head: "No... It's me they're after. If I go out, I can protect..."
"Shut up!!" Gong Yuxian's voice shook violently, her face flushing red with agitation: "Qingyue, you are so intelligent. How can you... believe the words of those villains! And even if what they say is true... even if everyone in Bing Yun Fairy Palace must die, you absolutely cannot die!!"
"Go now! If you don't leave... I will sever my own heart meridian and die before your eyes!!"
"Palace Master!" Xia Qingyue was greatly alarmed.
"Still not leaving?!" Gong Yuxian's voice was almost hoarse: "Those villains are just one wall away. They could break through at any moment! By then, you'll want to leave but won't be able to! Every second you stay adds to the danger and reduces hope for Bing Yun Fairy Palace. If you don't leave now... do you want to watch me die before your eyes?!"
"Boom!!"
Gong Yuxian suddenly rose and struck out with her palm, hitting Xia Qingyue's chest. Xia Qingyue flew far away, and when she landed, beside her was precisely the escape profound formation, flickering with faint profound light.
"GO!!!"
Xia Qingyue stood up, her eyes already brimming with tears. She knew she had no choice left. If she did not leave, Gong Yuxian would truly sever her own heart meridian. She turned her face, her trembling gaze sweeping over each familiar face, imprinting their features firmly into her soul. After a long moment, she spoke softly: "Palace Master, Master, Senior Uncles, Senior Aunts, and all my sisters... You must... take care! I... Bing Yun disciple Xia Qingyue... will never let any of your hopes down..."
"Qingyue, go." Chu Yueli turned away, not looking at her, not letting her see the tears on her face: "The escape profound formation left by the Bing Yun Ancestor leads to an unknown place. If it is still within Cang Feng Empire, go far away... as far as possible. Don't let those villains find you. You are your master's pride, and the smartest girl in this world. You know the consequences of acting rashly... Promise your master: do not return until your strength has broken through to the Sovereign Xuan Realm!"
Sovereign Xuan Realm—a true "mythical" realm in Cang Feng Empire. But for Xia Qingyue, it was by no means impossible. Because she was only twenty-two years old and already a Half-step Overlord Emperor.
Those who had driven Bing Yun Fairy Palace into a corner possessed the terrifying strength of the Overlord Emperor Realm. Yet even at that level, they took orders from someone they called "Young Master." The terrifying scale of the power that could have Overlord Emperors as subordinates was easy to imagine.
Therefore, she told Xia Qingyue that if she wanted revenge, if she wanted to revive Bing Yun... she must achieve the Emperor Lord Realm.
"...Your disciple swears: until I reach the Sovereign Xuan Realm, I will never return." Xia Qingyue closed her icy eyes, each word carrying a weeping tone. At that moment, her footsteps stepped heavily into the teleportation profound formation... She knew that after leaving here, her life would no longer belong only to herself, but would carry the hopes of everyone in Bing Yun Fairy Palace. No matter what, she could not die in vain.
The light of the escape profound formation blazed up. A mass of ice-blue radiance enveloped Xia Qingyue's body, carrying her away and vanishing from the Bingyi Divine Hall in an instant.
Gong Yuxian's hand dropped. On her face, pain and peace appeared simultaneously.
————————————
...