Chapter 670: Calamity Strikes Again
Yun Che and Xiao Yun changed into identical clothes. If one ignored their faces, the two were over ninety percent similar in both front and back views. Xiao Yun, after changing clothes, said uneasily: "Big Brother, what exactly do you plan to... do?"
Yun Che looked over Xiao Yun's current appearance, gave a slight nod, then stepped forward and said: "Good. Our body types are similar; unless someone knows us extremely well, it will be very difficult to distinguish us just by body shape."
As he spoke, Yun Che took out a wooden box from the Heavenly Poison Pearl: "Sit down now. I'll disguise you as me."
"Ah?" Xiao Yun was startled, then his mouth opened wide: "Dis... disguise?"
"Right!" Yun Che nodded, his brows slightly furrowed: "Don't worry. I'll use special medicines to disguise you, not profound energy disguise. Unless it's an expert in this art, there's absolutely no way to detect it."
The strongest disguise expert Yun Che had encountered so far on the Tian Xuan Continent was Hua Minghai. But even Hua Minghai was far inferior to him in the art of disguise. If Yun Che himself disguised Xiao Yun, even Hua Minghai might not be able to see through it.
"But why disguise as Big Brother's appearance?" Xiao Yun asked, utterly puzzled.
"Because, after the people from the Sun Moon Divine Palace arrive... if nothing unexpected happens, there will be a period of time when you need to take my identity and face them in my place." Yun Che said solemnly.
Xiao Yun froze: "I..."
"Are you afraid?" Yun Che smiled lightly.
Xiao Yun was dazed for a moment, then gritted his teeth and shook his head forcefully: "No... not afraid! Big Brother, rest assured. Even if I have to risk my life, I..."
"Forget about risking your life," Yun Che interrupted with a smile. "I promised your Seventh Sister that I would bring you back without losing a single hair. If you lose your life, your Seventh Sister would chase me with a knife every day, and I would never have peace in this life."
Speaking thus, Yun Che's expression turned serious: "But this matter indeed carries great risk. To ensure my death, Ye Xinghan will bring at least three Emperor Lords! He might even bring mid-stage... or even higher-level Emperor Lords. If we fail, although we can escape using the Primordial Mystic Ark, the consequences could be severe, as you can imagine... After the disguise, I'll detail what you need to do. Every word I say next, you must remember firmly... This matter is also a huge test for you."
"Alright... I understand." Xiao Yun took a deep breath and nodded with extreme seriousness.
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Yun Che left the Primordial Mystic Ark, changed it to its smallest form... only the size of a palm, then came to the main gate of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace and placed the Primordial Mystic Ark between two thick layers of ice. In people's understanding, the way to enter and exit the ark was naturally through its door. The Primordial Mystic Ark could also be entered through the door, but it had a special way of entry and exit, the one Yun Che always used... spatial transfer!
It was also one of Yun Che's reliance today in facing the Sun Moon Divine Palace... of course, on the premise that the existence of the Primordial Mystic Ark must not be discovered. However, the energy carrier of the Primordial Mystic Ark was Hong'er, not the ark itself. Thus, when stationary, it had no aura fluctuations. Plus it could change size, so even an Emperor Lord would find it hard to detect. Even if seen, they would only take it as a model of an ark.
It was late at night. The Bing Yun Fairy Palace was utterly silent. There were still two shichen until dawn... and in about two shichen, the Sun Moon Divine Palace would arrive. Yun Che used the Bing Yun Fairy Soul to issue a Palace Master's order... Soon, six white immortal figures flew over and landed before Yun Che. They were the Ice Cloud Seven Immortals, minus Xia Qingyue.
"Palace Master, is there something important?" Murong Qianxue asked with a frown.
Yun Che said in a deep voice: "Indeed, it's a major matter. The people from the Sun Moon Divine Palace are heading here... they will arrive in about two shichen. Moreover, the arriving party is led by Young Master Ye Xinghan, and includes at least three Emperor Lords!"
"What?!" Murong Qianxue and the others were all horrified.
Two Overlord Emperors had pushed the Bing Yun Fairy Palace to the brink. If not for Yun Che's arrival, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace would no longer exist... At least three Emperor Lords—this was a force sufficient to sweep across the seven nations of Tian Xuan. To destroy a Bing Yun Fairy Palace would be as easy as raising a hand!
"As for the reason, there's no time to explain. Wake all the disciples immediately, have them bring all important items within half a shichen, and gather here in half a shichen!"
"Has the Palace Master chosen a place to flee?" Jun Lianqie asked nervously.
"No, I never said we must flee!" Yun Che said calmly: "The opponent is the Sun Moon Divine Palace. You should understand well that if we flee today, we will be on the run forever, always under the shadow of the Sun Moon Divine Palace. All disciples of our Bing Yun Fairy Palace gathered here to face the Sun Moon Divine Palace together."
Yun Che's words left them stunned. Chu Yueli sighed softly and said sadly: "But that is the Sun Moon Divine Palace, something we simply cannot contend with. If they stay, they will only be sending themselves to their deaths... Let the six of us stay to face the Sun Moon Divine Palace. As for them... there are still two shichen. Perhaps they can still flee far enough. The more people escape the demon's clutches, the more spark of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace will remain."
"No! I only said we would face the Sun Moon Divine Palace together. I never said I would let you go to your deaths!" Yun Che said with extreme seriousness: "Although the Young Master of the Sun Moon Divine Palace is coming in person, that does not mean we are at a dead end. If you trust me... I cannot guarantee that I can preserve the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, but I will definitely protect the lives of all of you. Every senior master, every senior sister, every junior sister... I guarantee not one will be lost!"
"And if everything goes smoothly, and even the Bing Yun Fairy Palace is preserved..." Yun Che raised his head and swept his gaze over their snow-white faces and bright eyes one by one: "Then our Bing Yun Fairy Palace will be reborn from nirvana. From now on, at least in the short term, no one will dare to offend us... until we grow strong enough to contend with them!"
Under the night sky, with silent snow and moon, Murong Qianxue, Jun Lianqie, Mu Lanyi, Chu Yueli, Feng Hanyue, and Feng Hanxue stared blankly at Yun Che, long silent... They could not imagine, facing what he himself had described as "Young Master of Sun Moon Divine Palace" and "at least three Emperor Lords", what he relied on to say such words.
The night grew deeper. The sky's color shifted from gray-white to a more profound gray. Chu Yueli was the first to speak: "Alright. You are our Palace Master. Of course we trust your words."
"We will go summon all the disciples now." Murong Qianxue nodded.
As she spoke, tiny ice crystals appeared on her hair ends... Having killed two Overlord Emperors of the Sun Moon Divine Palace, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had temporarily escaped peril. But they all knew this was not the end of the calamity, only the beginning... They just didn't expect the greater calamity to come so quickly.
"Also, I will be in the Ice God Temple next, and I will set up an isolation barrier. Before I come out on my own, unless the Sun Moon Divine Palace people arrive early, let no one approach that place." Yun Che said solemnly, then without further explanation, he floated into the air and flew straight toward the Ice God Temple.
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A thousand miles of silence. The night wind was icy cold. Unnoticed, the sky shifted from gray to gray-white, to pale... until it brightened. Two shichen passed quietly.
All Bing Yun disciples had already gathered in front of the main gate. An atmosphere of tension and determination enveloped the entire Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
Murong Qianxue and the others floated high above. Their beautiful eyes sometimes looked south, sometimes back toward the Ice God Temple's location... Since Yun Che entered the Ice God Temple, there had been no movement. And the time was drawing closer to the "two shichen" Yun Che had mentioned. They could only constantly calm their minds with the Ice Heart Art.
At that moment, a distant but extremely piercing tearing sound came from the southwestern sky, rapidly approaching. Then, in the direction of the tearing sound, a faint black dot appeared in the pale white sky.
"What is that... Ah!!"
With the exclamation of a Bing Yun woman, in an instant—just an instant—the black dot in view magnified countless times at an unimaginably terrifying speed, clearly revealing the outline of a silver profound ark. Its speed far exceeded the comprehension of all Bing Yun women. Then, this silver profound ark came to an extremely rapid halt... halting less than a hundred zhang in front of them.
The cold wind became chaotic. Space trembled faintly. A vast, indescribable profound energy field almost enveloped the entire Ice Extreme Snow Domain, causing even the strongest of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, Murong Qianxue and the others, to hold their breath completely. This level of profound energy could only be called "incomprehensible"... The people from the Sun Moon Divine Palace... had really come!!
"This profound ark is called the Sun Moon Sacred Ark. It is the highest-grade profound ark of the Sun Moon Divine Palace, extremely fast and not easily used. This time, for visiting our Bing Yun Fairy Palace, they actually brought it out."
A calm yet slightly mocking voice came from behind. They quickly turned around, and amid their panic, said with surprise: "Palace Master!"
Yun Che stepped on the wind and arrived, in the blink of an eye flying to the front of Murong Qianxue and the others. What he had done in the two shichen in the Ice God Temple, none of them knew. But vaguely, they felt that the sense of heaviness on Yun Che had actually lessened even more than before. Now, facing the arriving Sun Moon Sacred Ark, his aura and his expression were completely calm... even somewhat proud, without any panic or fear!
Yun Che stood at the very front, his gaze fixed directly on the Sun Moon Sacred Ark whose door had not yet opened. A slight smile seemed to play on his calm face: "All senior masters, aunts, senior sisters, and junior sisters, this is indeed a calamity unprecedented in the thousand-year history of our Bing Yun Fairy Palace! But, as the Palace Master of Bing Yun Fairy Palace, I stake my dignity as Yun Che... I will never let the Bing Yun Fairy Palace fall! Nor will I let any of you suffer harm. What you need to do next is, no matter what happens, do not panic! Perhaps..."
He turned his head and gave a light smile to the Bing Yun girls: "You might even discover that the Sun Moon Divine Palace is not as frightening as you think."
Facing the calamity, each of them smelled only a cold and oppressive aura of despair. But Yun Che's words, and his faint smile in the face of a great enemy, were like a breeze that swept away most of that oppression and fear. All the Bing Yun women's gazes fell on the back that stood in the very front, blocking them. Their eyes trembled slightly. A sense of reliance, trust, and an indescribably unfamiliar warmth continuously sprouted and expanded in their hearts. This was a feeling they had never experienced with the previous Palace Master, Gong Yuxian.
Chu Yueli silently watched Yun Che's back. Her beautiful eyes were dazed and lost in thought for a long time... Who could have imagined that the boy who was once looked down upon and mocked by everyone in Liuyun City, whom she had only shielded at Qingyue's plea, could in just a few short years shake the Cang Feng Kingdom and shake the entire Tian Xuan Continent... And now, he had become the sole reliance of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace in the face of a great calamity!
With a series of heavy sounds, the door of the Sun Moon Sacred Ark opened at that moment. Figures whose entire bodies rippled with vast profound energy slowly walked out. Yun Che crossed his arms, his gaze sweeping one by one over the people descending from the Sun Moon Sacred Ark. A faint, cold smile slowly curled at the corner of his mouth: "Ye Xinghan, you've finally come. I thought your Sun Moon Divine Palace's so-called Sacred Ark was something extraordinary, but it turns out to be nothing much. It actually made me wait this long!"
The footsteps of those leaving the Sun Moon Sacred Ark all paused, and their expressions changed uniformly.
Ye Xinghan had brought four Emperor Lords and fifteen Overlord Emperors, piloting the Sun Moon Sacred Ark here, intending in his fury to kill Yun Che in the shortest time possible, leaving him no chance to react or escape. On the way here, they had imagined many scenes... They imagined that facing the Sun Moon Divine Palace descending from the sky, Yun Che might be so frightened that he would collapse on the spot, or flee with his head in his hands. He might run desperately in fear... Or he might have sensed something and fled the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, in which case they would destroy the Bing Yun Fairy Palace and then go straight to the Cangfeng Imperial City, waiting to see the despair on Yun Che's face...
But they would never have dreamed in death that upon arrival, they would see such a scene... Yun Che's posture was actually that of calmly waiting for them. He clearly knew they were coming... Yet not only did he not flee, he showed not a trace of panic or fear. His voice was loud and resonant, without even the slightest trembling of nervousness. And his slightly curled lips and eyes that clearly carried arrogance and mockery seemed to be scrutinizing a prey that had walked into a trap!
As the "hunters", facing Yun Che's gaze, they actually felt for a moment that they had become the "prey".
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[It seems I've kept forgetting to mention... our Baidu Tieba has been revived!]
[Recently in training exams... sad...]