Chapter 669: Four Great Elders
As a profound practitioner's profound strength increases, their movement speed also grows. Especially when reaching the Heavenly Xuan Realm, allowing them to traverse the void, their flying speed becomes extremely astonishing, but still cannot compare to a Mysterious Ark. However, at the supreme realms of Overlord Xuan and Sovereign Xuan, while their maximum speed can surpass most Mysterious Arks, they still lag behind some—his master!" Ye Guyin said solemnly. "Although the Young Master is furious and impulsive, he is by no means foolish. I believe he brought all four of us here precisely out of such consideration."
"I also agree with the Ninth Elder's words." The Eleventh Elder, Ye Juanyun, spoke up. "It is said that Yun Che had a crippled profound vein in his youth but later miraculously recovered. Three years ago, when he swept through the Seven Nations Ranking Battle, it was said he had only cultivated the profound path for less than four years! Now, only three short years have passed, and his profound strength has reached a level where he can instantly kill Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi! Such a level is simply exaggerated to the extreme. Even for us, the Four Sacred Grounds, even if we poured all our resources, it would be absolutely impossible for anyone to achieve such progress in such a short time! It is truly hard to imagine what kind of extraordinary master could nurture such a disciple!"
"Three years ago, there were rumors that he had a powerful and mysterious master behind him, but no one had ever seen him." Ye Guyin said indifferently. "Back then, he stood alone in Shenhuang City facing the entire Fenghuang God Sect, yet he showed no fear. At that time, he was less than twenty years old and could not possibly possess such a state of mind and courage unless he had something to rely on. That may sufficiently indicate that his master was powerful enough to make him unafraid of the Fenghuang God Sect. The Fenghuang God Sect must have realized this to some extent at the time, which is why they declared a 'reconciliation' with Yun Che during the Seven Nations Ranking Battle, only to have Feng Feiyan kill him aboard the Primordial Mystic Ark!"
"What bothers me most is how he managed to escape alive from the Primordial Mystic Ark!" Ye Guyin continued. "Many of our seniors from the Four Sacred Grounds also remained on the Primordial Mystic Ark, but not a single one returned—their bones never found! Yet Yun Che emerged alive..."
"That point is easy to explain," Ye Shi said with a smile. "The Young Master mentioned that three years ago on the Primordial Mystic Ark, Xia Yuanba of the Huangji Sacred Domain, who possesses the Overlord Emperor Divine Meridian, left early before the Ark closed. The Snow Princess of the Fenghuang God Sect was originally sealed together with Yun Che in an ancient castle by the Young Master, yet the Snow Princess came out safely... The reason they could escape was because of the Space Bracelets that the Huangji Sacred Domain created at great cost specifically to prevent accidents on the Primordial Mystic Ark. Xia Yuanba and the Snow Princess both used Space Bracelets to leave, so naturally, Yun Che could have done the same! Clearly, three years ago, he was never taken away by the Primordial Mystic Ark but escaped through a Space Bracelet. However, he realized that having offended the Young Master, leaving the Primordial Mystic Ark would only mean death, and the Fenghuang God Sect would not let him go either. So after escaping the Ark, he quickly went into hiding, creating the illusion that he had been taken away by the Primordial Mystic Ark, leading everyone to believe he was dead. That way, he would not be hunted by our Sun Moon Divine Palace and the Fenghuang God Sect, and he could survive by lying low until now... until he was exposed today."
"Exactly." Ye Youran nodded deeply in agreement. "This is the only explanation. That Yun Che is so cunning, he fooled our Sun Moon Divine Palace and the Fenghuang God Sect for three whole years... No wonder the Young Master is so furious!"
Ye Guyin furrowed his brows slightly, then slowly nodded. "This indeed seems to be the best explanation. However, I still have another doubt... Both Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi had life soul marks personally planted by the Young Master. Their soul crystals shattered, proving they both died, but the Young Master only received the death mark of Ye Ziyi. This suggests that Ye Qingsheng's life soul mark was erased before his death! A person capable of erasing a life soul mark would certainly have detected its existence! Yet he directly killed Ye Ziyi, as if he deliberately allowed Ye Ziyi's death mark to be transmitted to the Young Master..."
"Hahaha!" Ye Youran laughed heartily. "Ninth Elder has always been composed and wise, meticulous in thought, often inspiring admiration. But this time, you are truly overthinking. Yun Che may indeed have a not-so-weak master behind him, but can his master possibly surpass the Ninth Elder? Our Sun Moon Divine Palace has dominated the Tian Xuan Continent for ten thousand years; when have we ever feared anyone? That little Yun Che—being 'valued' to such an extent by the Young Master is already his honor. Even if his talent and strength were ten times greater, before our Sun Moon Divine Palace, he is nothing more than a grasshopper to be trampled at will! If he truly were as you suggest... why would he have gone to such lengths three years ago to fake his death just to survive?"
"Ye Youran speaks sense." Ye Juanyun nodded in agreement after hearing this. "Life soul marks can sometimes be erased by the impact of profound force during breakthroughs. It is entirely possible that Ye Qingsheng's life soul mark had already disappeared without him knowing. This is very normal."
"Hehe," Ye Guyin smiled faintly. "Perhaps I am indeed overthinking."
"Haha, the Ninth Elder has always been meticulous and never underestimates anyone. That is precisely why the Heavenly Lord holds you in such high regard," Ye Shi said with a smile. "This is also what we have always admired most about you... Oh? It seems we are approaching the borders of the Cang Feng Kingdom. I wonder if Yun Che has sensed our arrival and is already fleeing in panic."
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Extreme North of Cang Feng, Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
It was deep night, but the sky above the Ice Extreme Snow Domain was reflected gray-white by the boundless snow and ice. Upon arriving at the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, Yun Che did not leave the Primordial Mystic Ark together with Xiao Yun. He roughly calculated the possible arrival time of the Sun Moon Divine Palace, then quickly took out two identical sets of outer garments, belts, and shoes from the Heavenly Poison Pearl: "Xiao Yun, change into these clothes!"
Xiao Yun and Yun Che had very similar builds, so Yun Che's clothes would naturally fit Xiao Yun perfectly.