Chapter 703: Hatred Fills the World
Feng Feilie was negotiating with Yun Che while exercising immense patience, constantly reminding himself with every breath to remain calm and never act rashly. Even so, when Yun Che announced his fourth condition, flames shot from his eyes, and blood nearly sprayed from his throat.
Ceding territory—for a nation, this was undoubtedly the most humiliating and sovereignty-compromising act. How could his Shenhuang Empire bear such disgrace?
"Yun Che, don't push your luck too far!"
"Push my luck too far?" Yun Che said in a low voice, his tone dark. "Compared to the heinous crimes your Shenhuang committed in Cang Feng, I am practically as merciful as the legendary saints!"
He turned his gaze to Feng Hengkong, sneering at his twisted, bluish-black face that was especially hideous in its contortion: "Sect Master Phoenix, you should have heard these four conditions quite clearly. I'll give you five breaths to consider. If you obediently comply, your son lives, and I won't bother coming again tomorrow. But if you remain as ungrateful as yesterday... then I'll have to let him die right now!"
On Yun Che's face was always a calm, even somewhat gentle smile, as if he were talking about the easiest thing in the world.
Even though the veins all over his body were about to burst from rage, Feng Feilie still used the greatest composure of his life to steady himself, because at this moment, saving Feng Xichen's life was the most important thing. No matter what conditions were raised, he had to agree first. Afraid that Feng Hengkong might explode, he quickly said, "My Shenhuang imperial prince's life is more important than anything else in this world! Fine! Those four conditions you mentioned, our Fenghuang God Sect can agree to... but..."
"That's wonderful!" Yun Che turned around instantly, smiling as he looked at Feng Feilie, his arrogant voice cutting him off directly: "You, Great Elder of Phoenix, are far more sensible than that nauseating Sect Master Phoenix. Since you've already agreed, I have no reason to kill your precious Thirteenth Prince. What comes after is even simpler."
He slightly loosened his left hand holding Feng Xichen, then slowly extended a finger with his raised right hand: "I'll give you ten breaths. Send word to all your troops stationed on my Cang Feng soil, ordering them to roll back at the fastest speed possible. Your Fenghuang God Sect has the best sound transmission jades; it shouldn't even take ten breaths."
"You..."
"Then," Yun Che extended a second finger, "have your Sect Master Phoenix immediately write a confession of guilt—oh, right here is fine. After writing, remember to stamp it with the Phoenix Seal, then have your Sect Master Phoenix read it aloud. With his unparalleled profound power, spreading it two hundred li should be easy."
"I'll give you another thirty breaths to prepare the document ceding Chiqiong City, stamp it with the Great Phoenix Seal, and hand it directly to me. Very convenient."
"Finally, I'll grant you another quarter-hour to prepare two hundred billion Purple Mysterious Coins. Hand them directly to me as well. Not a single coin less."
"After that, your Thirteenth Prince can live safely."
"Also, you have no right to bargain. Do not attempt to exceed the time limits I just gave—not even by a single breath!"
How could Yun Che not know exactly what these people were scheming? If he were so easily outwitted, he wouldn't have survived to this day.
Feng Feilie's already ugly face turned even more sour: "Yun Che, you... you... don't go too far!"
"Oh? What does Great Elder mean by that?" Yun Che sneered. "Just now, you personally agreed to the four conditions I raised. And what I just said fully matches those four conditions, not exceeding them by a hair. What's with this expression now? Could it be that your hearty agreement just now was nothing more than a casually released fart?"
"Yun Che!! You..." Feng Feilie roared, his whole body trembling, but he was so enraged he couldn't speak.
"Feilie, stop wasting words with him!!"
Feng Hengkong spoke, and both his expression and voice suddenly became somewhat calm. His gaze focused, not on Yun Che, but on Feng Xichen, whose face was filled with fear and pleading: "Chen'er, listen. You are an imperial prince of my Shenhuang Empire, flowing with the noblest Phoenix bloodline. We can die, but we must never grovel! Even more, we cannot allow our five-thousand-year Phoenix reputation to be tarnished!!"
"Rest assured, I will not let you die in vain! I will personally avenge you immediately!!"
"Everyone, attack! Kill Yun Che!!"
As Feng Hengkong's words fell, his sound transmission also rang like a thunderclap in the ears of all Phoenix elders. But not a single one acted immediately; their eyes showed deep struggle and hesitation, because Yun Che's captive was not an ordinary Phoenix disciple, but a prince.
But then, a phoenix flame shot into the sky, and Feng Hengkong charged toward Yun Che first. The astonishing surge of energy clearly indicated he was unleashing his profound force completely. The Phoenix elders could no longer hesitate. With low roars, they ignited their phoenix flames and attacked simultaneously. In an instant, dozens of fiery streaks shot toward Yun Che's location at incredible speed, and a terrifying pressure heavily weighed down the entire Shenhuang City.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!"
The screams came not from Yun Che, but from Feng Xichen in his grasp: "Father Emperor! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!"
"Hahahaha!" Yun Che, surrounded in the center and seemingly with no way out, laughed loudly instead: "Feng Hengkong, do you even deserve to speak of reputation? Do you have the right to mention the Phoenix bloodline?"
"There's one thing you should remind yourself of well: it wasn't me who killed your two sons, but you, Feng Hengkong!! This is the retribution for your evil deeds against my Cang Feng!"
"And this is only the beginning!!"
"Attack!" Feng Hengkong roared.
BOOM!!!!!!!
Neither Feng Hengkong nor the Phoenix elders approached Yun Che, but their phoenix flames simultaneously exploded violently. In an instant, the sky above Phoenix City turned into a vast sea of flames. The phoenix flames from dozens of Overlords were so intense and scorching that they completely overshadowed the sun's light, and space itself twisted beyond recognition.
They hadn't forgotten the speed Yun Che displayed yesterday, so instead of getting close, they fully erupted their phoenix flames, engulfing dozens of li of the sky. Even if Yun Che's speed were ten times faster, he would have no chance to escape.
The Phoenix Sect Master and all the Phoenix elders present attacking together—such a formation had never occurred in Shenhuang's history. Although Yun Che's profound power level was only at the King Xuan realm, he had stirred up the greatest fear and hatred the Fenghuang God Sect had ever known.
And when this sea of phoenix flames engulfed Yun Che, it naturally also engulfed Feng Xichen. They were certain that under this sea of flames, Yun Che had no chance of survival—and Feng Xichen was even more surely dead.
To kill Yun Che, they had to sacrifice another prince's life. Even if Yun Che truly died, a disgraceful mark would forever remain in Phoenix history.
But the Fenghuang God Sect never realized—and had no chance to realize—that mere phoenix flames could not harm Yun Che in the slightest. Instead, the intensely blazing light and aura provided the perfect cover for his safe escape!
Yun Che casually threw Feng Xichen aside. Even at full strength, Feng Xichen couldn't survive more than three breaths under such flames. With all his power sealed by Yun Che, he only managed a final despairing scream before being completely devoured and incinerated by the flames. Like Feng Xiluo the day before, he was burned to nothing.
The difference was that Feng Xiluo died under Yun Che's phoenix flame, while Feng Xichen died under the phoenix flame of their own Fenghuang God Sect.
Using Star God Remnant Shadow combined with Phantom Lightning Extreme, Yun Che soared up through the turbulent sea of flames, breaking free from its edge in the blink of an eye. At the same time, he escaped the encirclement formed by dozens of Phoenix elders, then shot straight eastward.
"As expected of the beast-faced, heart-poisonous Phoenix Sect Master, even killing his own son! Poor Thirteenth Prince—under his own father's flames, I'd guess not even a trace of bone ash remains, hahahaha!!"
With Phantom Lightning Extreme, Yun Che's speed was enough to make everyone despair. In an instant, he had completely vanished from sight, leaving only his wildly mocking laughter echoing from afar.
"Impossible! How did he escape? Impossible!!" All the Phoenix elders were dumbfounded. The shock this scene brought them was no less than when Yun Che suddenly appeared in the center of Phoenix City. Just now, dozens of Phoenix elders plus Sect Master Feng Hengkong had simultaneously activated a Phoenix Flame Formation. Under such power, even a person at the peak of the Overlord Xuan realm would be burned to ashes in a short time, with no hope of survival.
Even if Yun Che were strong enough to survive, he should at least be severely injured—but his escape speed was no slower than yesterday, and his voice shook the soul. Far from being severely injured, he didn't even seem lightly injured.
And Feng Xichen's aura had completely vanished within the sea of flames.
Feng Feilie descended from the air to Feng Hengkong's side, every muscle on his face twitching violently: "Sect Master, should we pursue?"
With Yun Che's terrifying speed, there was no way they could catch up. In fact, Feng Feilie couldn't even be sure whether the rarely-seen Supreme Emperor—also the Supreme Sect Master—could match Yun Che's speed.
"Pfft..." Feng Hengkong's body swayed slightly, and then a large mist of blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Sect Master!!" Feng Feilie hastily supported Feng Hengkong, and the elders and princes were also greatly alarmed, scrambling over.
Two sons killed before his eyes within two days—Feng Hengkong finally understood what it meant to have extreme rage burn the heart. His face pale, the scene before him blurry, he watched the flames quickly dissipating in the sky without the slightest trace of Feng Xichen. Grief overwhelmed him, and he wished he could bitterly weep.
"Father Emperor, please calm down and take care of your health. The vengeance for Thirteenth and Fourteenth Imperial Brothers, we will surely extract it a thousandfold," Feng Ximing said urgently.
"I... I am fine... fine..." Feng Hengkong reached out to push away the arms supporting him, slowly straightening up. But he stood there with unfocused eyes, dazed for a long time, as if his soul had left him.
"Father Emperor, should we..." Second Prince Feng Xihan said hesitantly, "Should we invite Grandfather out of seclusion..."
Feng Xihan's words touched a nerve in everyone present, because this was the thought that had simultaneously arisen in their minds. Feng Feiran sighed heavily and said, "In terms of profound power alone, none of us fear Yun Che. But his speed... that is very likely the Phantom Lightning Extreme of the Thief God Clan. Back then, Hua Minghai was only at late-stage Heavenly Xuan, and we still had trouble catching him. Yun Che far surpasses Hua Minghai in both strength and speed, and his viciousness is incomparable. Even if it might disappoint and anger the Supreme Sect Master... what if another prince accidentally falls into Yun Che's hands..."
"Sect Master, this is only because of our incompetence," Feng Feilie said shamefully.
"Yun Che dares not face us directly; he only threatens me with my sons..." Feng Hengkong spoke slowly, his voice eerily calm: "Can I not use the same method against him!!"
The elders and princes were taken aback: "Sect Master, you mean..."
"The central army was wiped out by Yun Che, and now that he's here, he cannot possibly attend to the Cangfeng Imperial City." Feng Hengkong clenched his teeth, his pupils releasing venomous hatred: "Order the eastern and western armies stationed in Cang Feng to each dispatch at least two hundred thousand troops from the garrisons closest to Cangfeng Imperial City. March at full speed to Cangfeng Imperial City! They must arrive before dawn tomorrow, and then, by any means necessary, take Cangfeng Imperial City!!"
"Kill every living person in the city without exception!! Only that female emperor must be captured alive!!"
Feng Hengkong's words lifted everyone's spirits, and the gloom in their hearts dissipated by more than half. Yun Che had clearly come for the sake of the Cang Feng Nation. If they couldn't catch him, they could easily seize his fatal weakness! Without Yun Che's protection, their Shenhuang army could take Cangfeng Imperial City with ease—and Empress Cang Yue was Yun Che's lawfully wedded wife!
"Father Emperor is wise! I will give the orders immediately!!" Feng Ximing quickly departed.
"The Sect Master is truly brilliant! Once we take Cangfeng Imperial City and capture Empress Cang Yue, let's see how arrogant Yun Che remains!" Feng Feilie said hatefully.
...