# Chapter 698: Destroying the Phoenix God Statue
"Yun... Yun Che!?"
Even though it was a name that had been dead for three years, it still thundered like thunder in the ears of the Phoenix disciples. The guard disciple on the right instantly realized why this face looked so familiar... Three years ago, during the Seven Nations Ranking Battle, he had been one of the guards, standing right beside the main gate!
The two guard disciples were shocked, but the arrogance on their faces did not diminish in the slightest... Because this was Phoenix City, and they were Phoenix disciples with the Phoenix bloodline, the most noble and supreme existence among the seven nations. Not to mention a Yun Che, even if the emperors of the other six nations came in person, they wouldn't necessarily be polite.
"Wasn't Yun Che supposed to be dead and gone three years ago? Could he be some impostor?"
"Whether he's an impostor or not, he comes straight here demanding to see the Sect Master? Tsk tsk, who do you think you are?"
"Could it be that he's come to plead for the soon-to-be-destroyed Cang Feng little kingdom? Heh heh..." The two guard disciples exchanged glances and then burst into laughter simultaneously.
"Heh," Yun Che also laughed. "Forget it, no need for you to announce me. What a waste of time. I'll just call him out myself."
With a cold sneer, Yun Che stepped forward, and his entire body suddenly ignited with flames that were scarlet red tinged with pale gold. The moment the Golden Crow Flame blazed up, the two Phoenix disciples' wild laughter stopped. The Phoenix robes on their bodies suddenly caught fire, rapidly spreading to cover their entire bodies, causing them to retreat in panic, letting out agonized roars.
Boom!!
The Golden Crow Flame surged forward and exploded with a thunderous blast. A pillar of fire shot up, reaching a hundred zhang into the sky. With a tremendous crash that resounded throughout the entire Shenhuang City, the gate of Phoenix City—which had stood for five thousand years, symbolizing the glory and might of the Fenghuang God Sect—along with the Phoenix God Statue, collapsed and shattered into pieces...
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Inside the Phoenix Grand Hall, all the core figures of this generation of the Fenghuang God Sect were gathered. Among the fifty-six Phoenix Elders, excluding the already deceased Grand Elder Feng Feiyan, Nineteenth Elder Feng Feiheng, Forty-Third Elder Feng Feiying, Fifty-Second Elder Feng Hengjiang, and the two elders who were still supervising the army in the Cang Feng Kingdom, every other elder-level figure was present—exactly fifty of them, not one missing.
Given the absolute dominance of the Fenghuang God Sect among the seven nations, for several thousand years, all elder-level figures had died of natural causes, never having fallen by anyone else's hand. Feng Feiyan's death was deserved and could be set aside. But now, within a single day, three elders' soul crystals had shattered in succession, falling in the Cang Feng Kingdom. Such a thing had never happened in the history of the Shenhuang Kingdom. No one had ever imagined that a Phoenix elder, with cultivation at the mid-stage Overlord Xuan realm or above, virtually invincible among the six nations, would end up dying just by acting as a supervisor for the invasion of the little Cang Feng Kingdom.
Thus, from the very beginning, this elders' assembly was oppressive. Unexpectedly, however, the topic Feng Hengkong discussed the most was not the deaths of the three elders, but a single person's "return from the dead"...
Yun Che!!
This included his current explosive increase in power, enough to kill Feng Huwei, the words he had spoken through Feng Huwei's death soul imprint yesterday... and also the speculation that he might be the culprit behind the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of Shenhuang troops.
The elders of the Fenghuang God Sect naturally knew Yun Che's name. That he could return alive from the vanished Primordial Mystic Ark had indeed shocked them all. But when they gradually realized that the core purpose of Feng Hengkong's assembly was how to deal with Yun Che—even proposing to invite a Supreme Elder to personally go to the Cang Feng Kingdom to kill him—all the elders showed deep surprise and confusion... Yun Che's "return from the dead" was indeed bizarre, his ability to kill Feng Huwei and his terrifying cultivation progress were shocking, and as the consort of the Cang Feng Kingdom, his claim of wanting revenge against the Shenhuang Kingdom was entirely unsurprising... But even if Yun Che's current strength were ten times stronger than speculated, what qualified him to make the Fenghuang God Sect mobilize in such force... And what right did he have to make a Supreme Elder come out of seclusion to deal with him personally?
It wasn't until Feng Hengkong brought up the matter of Feng Xue'er that they suddenly understood.
Feng Xue'er, as the future Phoenix God of the Fenghuang God Sect, was a matter of utmost importance. Even the smallest issue concerning her could not be neglected by the Fenghuang God Sect! If she truly valued Yun Che to such a degree... then, given the current situation between the Shenhuang Kingdom and the Cang Feng Kingdom, and the attitude Yun Che had shown upon his return, Yun Che absolutely had to die in the shortest possible time!!
Thus, to ensure absolute certainty, even if asking a Supreme Elder to come out of seclusion was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken, since it concerned the Snow Princess, it was a necessary choice.
At that moment, a thunderous roar came from outside, like a bolt of lightning striking down from the heavens, shaking the entire hall violently.
"What's going on!?" Feng Hengkong and all the elders instantly rose to their feet. A flash of fire passed as the Shenhuang Crown Prince, Feng Ximing, rushed into the hall and said urgently: "Father, there's a hostile attack! The Phoenix City gate... along with the Phoenix God Statue, have been destroyed directly!!"
"What!?" Feng Hengkong's expression changed drastically, and all the elders were also greatly alarmed. Although the roar just now had been earth-shattering, they had remained composed, showing no panic, because this was the Fenghuang God Sect—no one dared to cause trouble on their territory. It might have been some accident, and even if it were a real attack, it would be suicidal... But now, the city gate, and even the Phoenix God Statue that symbolized the might of the Phoenix, had been destroyed! This was no longer just causing trouble; it was trampling on the bottom line of the Fenghuang God Sect!
Feng Hengkong took the lead, instantly dashing out of the Phoenix Grand Hall, with all the elders following closely. When they looked toward the direction of the city gate, their faces all darkened...
The Phoenix City gate had stood for a full five thousand years, and atop it, the Phoenix God Statue was the emblem of their Fenghuang God Sect. Every seven days, a Phoenix elder would personally infuse it with Phoenix Flame Force, so that from every corner of Shenhuang City, one could see the eternal Phoenix firelight and the oppressive might of the Phoenix God Statue. It was not just a simple statue of the Phoenix God; it represented five thousand years of the Fenghuang God Sect's dignity and pride!
When ordinary people looked at the Phoenix God Statue from afar, they would feel an irresistible sense of awe, and even walk more cautiously. Even when people from the Four Sacred Grounds came here, they would never dare to show disrespect in front of the Phoenix God Statue...
But now, what they saw was the hundred-zhang Phoenix God Statue collapsing from the sky... shattering... and then, with a thunderous crash, smashing to the ground, turning into a heap of scarlet ruins along with the city gate amidst flames.
The collapse of the Phoenix God Statue could be clearly seen from anywhere in Shenhuang City, even from the outskirts, and it had undoubtedly caused an uproar and commotion throughout the city. Almost everyone stopped in their tracks or rushed out of their houses, staring blankly in shock toward the direction of Phoenix City.
"Who... who did this!?" Feng Hengkong's hair stood on end, and his entire body erupted with fury like a volcanic eruption. During his reign, the Phoenix God Statue had been destroyed... What an unbearable disgrace!! No matter who the culprit was, based on this alone, he and everyone associated with him would become the mortal enemies of the Fenghuang God Sect, with no end to the bloodshed!!
"How dare they blaspheme the gods of our sect... touch the inverse scale of our sect... unforgivable!" said the Second Phoenix Elder, Feng Feiran, his voice trembling.
"I will personally tear him into a thousand pieces!"
Boom!!
Feng Hengkong transformed into a streak of fire, charging straight toward Phoenix City gate. As he flew, he even produced explosive sounds like thunderclaps, showing just how violently enraged he was.
All the Phoenix elders followed behind him. Fifty Phoenix elders, along with the Phoenix Sect Master, all mobilized at once—this was almost unprecedented in the history of the Fenghuang God Sect. Not only that, but the destruction of the city gate and the collapse of the Phoenix God Statue was like dropping a thunderous bomb within the entire Fenghuang God Sect. All the princes, hall masters, palace masters, stewards, senior disciples, and junior disciples were terrified out of their wits. No matter how important the matter they were handling, they all dropped it immediately, not even caring about discipline or rules, and rushed madly toward the city gate in shock.
In an instant, the entire Phoenix City was shrouded in an atmosphere of chaos, anger, and scorching heat. The sky above was densely packed with figures, like a swarm of locusts crossing the border.
The Phoenix City gate... well, now there was no gate, only a stretch of ruins several dozen zhang high. The Phoenix Flame Force within the Phoenix God Statue had also dispersed completely upon collapse, turning into a large patch of scarlet flames, but soon even those flames gradually faded.
In front of the ruins, the two fortunate Phoenix guard disciples lay collapsed on the ground. Their pupils were dilated, their legs trembling violently, their faces completely bloodless, as terrified as if they had just woken from a nightmare, even forgetting the pain from the Golden Crow Flame burns on their bodies.
As the firelight and dust settled rapidly, the figure standing atop the ruins gradually became visible. Feng Hengkong tore through the air with a storm of profound force, arriving in an instant. He saw the figure on the ruins, and his eyes widened, crackling with flames all over his body: "Yun Che... It's... you!!!"
Although Feng Hengkong had been extremely furious moments ago, he hadn't lost his clarity. During his full-speed flight, he had made several guesses... The objects of his guesses were none other than the Four Sacred Grounds! At the same time, there was also the possibility that the news of the Phoenix God's death had finally been completely exposed!
Because only the Four Sacred Grounds, and only if they were certain the Phoenix God was dead, would dare to attack the Fenghuang God Sect like this!
But he had never considered Yun Che. One reason was enough to rule him out... Yun Che was still in the Cang Feng Kingdom yesterday, speaking to him through Feng Huwei's death soul imprint. Liuyun City was a hundred thousand li away from Shenhuang City. Without a Mystic Ark at the level of the Sacred Grounds, it was absolutely impossible to arrive within a single day.
But the person on the ruins was unexpectedly Yun Che.
While Feng Hengkong was shocked and enraged, he also breathed a huge sigh of relief inwardly. Since it wasn't the Four Sacred Grounds, his Fenghuang God Sect had no need for the slightest fear. The truth that the Phoenix God had passed away had not been exposed, and the crisis he had imagined moments ago no longer existed.
At the same time, today they had been discussing how to kill Yun Che, and now he was delivering himself to their doorstep... and right when all the elders were present! He had even given them a reason to kill him—a reason so abundant it couldn't be more abundant! Originally, because he had saved the Snow Princess three years ago, if they killed him directly, once word got out, it would inevitably attract a lot of negative criticism. But now, by destroying the Phoenix God Statue, killing Yun Che ten thousand times wouldn't be excessive.
No matter what, he would not... could not leave alive today! Feng Hengkong could also put an end to this major worry in his heart.
"Hmph, it looks like you chose a good time," Mo Li said, somewhat gloatingly. "Those people behind Feng Hengkong all have profound strength at the mid-to-late Overlord Xuan realm. They should be the Fenghuang God Sect's elder-level figures. To have them all come in a group, it seems they were holding an elders' assembly."
Yun Che crossed his arms, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, revealing a casual yet sinister cold smirk. Facing Feng Hengkong and the surging crowd of Phoenix elders and disciples behind him, his face showed no fear or apprehension. Instead, his sneer deepened: "Phoenix Sect Master, three years no see. Hope you've been well. Tsk tsk, back then, the Phoenix Sect Master wanted to kill me, even sending assassins to the Primordial Mystic Ark. And now, in just a few short years, you've become so polite. I've only just arrived, and not only has the Phoenix Sect Master come out to welcome me personally, but you've brought the entire sect's elders and disciples to greet me together... Oh my, oh my, this really makes me feel quite embarrassed."