Chapter 724: Xue'er's Phoenix Soul Awakens
The flame slammed into Feng Tianwei's chest, instantly suffocating him as the profound force surging through his body receded like a receding tide... This shocked him greatly. He quickly tried to gather his energy, but no matter how he mobilized his profound force, he could not release even the slightest bit of power. Within a single breath, even the phoenix flame on his body was completely extinguished.
This unprecedented change caused Feng Tianwei's face to lose all color. His body was being forcefully and rapidly pushed back by the crimson light surging from ahead... In his ears came the shocked cries of Feng Hengkong and the others. Not just him, but everyone from the Fenghuang God Sect surrounding them was being forcibly pushed away by this suddenly blooming and spreading flame, pushed farther and farther back.
Even Feng Tianwei could not muster the slightest power to resist, let alone anyone else.
Above Phoenix City, a massive, dazzling fire lotus bloomed in the sky, unfurling layer upon layer of flame petals. When these flame petals had bloomed to a hundred layers, all the people of the Fenghuang God Sect who had previously surrounded Yun Che had been repelled several miles away. The heart of this giant fire lotus was right under Feng Xue'er and Yun Che's feet.
When the overly dense firelight finally no longer filled his entire field of vision, Feng Tianwei quickly raised his head to look at Feng Xue'er's position... The moment his gaze touched the almost tangible shadow of a phoenix behind Feng Xue'er, his entire body froze. His soul trembled uncontrollably, almost making him want to kneel to the ground in worship.
"Ph... Phoenix Soul... Awakening?"
The seductive fire lotus stopped blooming further, nor did it harm anyone. It merely forcibly pushed everyone away.
Outside the fire lotus, everyone's gazes burned as if about to ignite, their faces covered in shock... but beyond the shock was profound excitement, ecstasy, and disbelief...
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Black Moon Merchant Guild.
Bang!
The green jade teacup in Zi Ji's hand shattered between his fingers.
"Master?" The three young women behind him quickly stepped forward, faces full of tension and questions.
"The Phoenix God's aura... has finally appeared?" Zi Ji murmured to himself. Then, his expression shifted: "No! This is... Lord Xuan Realm, Level 8?"
"Could it be..."
Zi Ji's profound energy rippled slightly. With a flicker of his shadow, he appeared like a ghost at the window, his gaze fixed on the direction of the Fenghuang God Sect as he spoke slowly: "Quickly confirm the source of this aura!"
"Yes!" A low voice responded from less than thirty zhang to his right.
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The fire lotus that had repelled everyone began to close, but their attention was no longer on Yun Che. They stared blankly at Feng Xue'er, at the phoenix shadow behind her, sensing the aura she was releasing... an aura clearly resembling their ancestor, the Phoenix God!!
"Xue'er, your Phoenix Soul... has awakened!?" Feng Hengkong stretched out his hands, speaking with extreme agitation. All the Fenghuang God Sect elders were similarly excited to the point of being at a loss, some even had tears in their eyes.
What did Phoenix Soul awakening mean? Outsiders would not know, but to the Fenghuang God Sect, these were words akin to a heavenly decree!
Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei clearly remembered that when the Phoenix God spirit was fading, it had personally said that, given Feng Xue'er's talent, the phoenix soul it had passed on to her would awaken after a hundred years. But once Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul awakened, combined perfectly with her Phoenix God body, her phoenix profound power would skyrocket overnight and grow at a speed incomprehensible to mortals over the next ten years... eventually reaching the height of the Phoenix God!
Thus becoming the second Phoenix God of the Fenghuang God Sect!
There was even the possibility of surpassing the Phoenix God through continuous cultivation!
So after the Phoenix God spirit faded, Feng Xue'er was the future of the Fenghuang God Sect!
Before Feng Xue'er grew up, they absolutely could not let news of the Phoenix God's death leak out. He would use any means necessary to protect the Fenghuang God Sect. And after supporting her for a hundred years, when Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul and Phoenix Body awakened and she became the second Phoenix God, the Fenghuang God Sect would no longer need to fear any power... not even the Four Sacred Grounds.
But Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei never dreamed, nor dared to hope... that Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Soul had already awakened!!
The pressure that should have belonged only to their ancestor, the Phoenix God, and the completely materialized phoenix shadow were the best proof!!
And her phoenix profound power had clearly undergone an earth-shattering growth! Feng Tianwei was a Level 6 Emperor Lord, yet under the flame she released, he was almost powerless to resist!! And that was not merely suppression by the Phoenix God's pressure, but also suppression by absolute strength!!
For them, this was a blessing so great it bordered on a dream.
Thus, they no longer needed to hold out for a hundred years... In just ten short years, Feng Xue'er's phoenix profound power would grow rapidly through the harmony of bloodline and soul until it fully matured, matching the divine power of their ancestor the Phoenix God. Then the Fenghuang God Sect would have no more crises!
A hundred years versus ten years was not merely a tenfold difference in time for the Fenghuang God Sect; it was a difference as vast as heaven and earth concerning the fate of their entire sect!!
"Xue'er... your three-year coma... was it actually because your Phoenix Soul was awakening?" Feng Tianwei said with a trembling voice. Even the decisive and ruthless man, at this moment, forgot his murderous intent toward Yun Che. Feng Xue'er had been in a coma for three full years, covered by a strange phoenix flame that even he could not approach. During that time, they had countless suspicions and guesses, but they never dared to imagine it was the awakening of the Phoenix Soul.
"Yes..." Standing in the heart of the Burning Star Fire Lotus, bathed in the light of the phoenix shadow, Feng Xue'er was like a fire goddess from a heavenly canon, unrealistically beautiful. As she released her Phoenix Soul power, her long hair turned into a fiery red, and her eyes, expression, and aura all underwent a tremendous change. "Do you know... why my Phoenix Soul awakened so quickly?"
Why so fast? Undoubtedly, everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect wanted to know the answer. If this was a miracle bestowed by heaven... there had to be a reason for it.
"It's because of Brother Yun." Feng Xue'er's gaze fell on Yun Che as she spoke softly. "Three years ago, Brother Yun not only saved my life but also bestowed upon me the fifth and sixth levels of the Phoenix Ode Scripture. This allowed the phoenix power within me to sublimate and integrate completely, completing the phoenix flame laws that support the Phoenix Soul, thereby allowing the Phoenix Soul granted to me by the Phoenix God to awaken a hundred years early..."
"My life was saved by Brother Yun. My awakened Phoenix Soul was bestowed by Brother Yun. Brother Yun's great kindness to me, and to our entire clan, is so vast it can never be repaid... Yet you all repeatedly sought to harm and kill Brother Yun!"
Feng Xue'er was angry. Everyone present saw her angry for the first time in their lives. She slowly raised her hand, and the phoenix shadow behind her spread its magnificent wings. An overwhelming Phoenix God pressure descended from the sky, enveloping the entire Phoenix City and everyone within it. Facing the already awakened Phoenix Soul, even those whose profound power far surpassed Feng Xue'er's could only tremble and submit under this Phoenix God pressure, unable to muster not just the strength to resist but even the will to resist. Once she fully became the Phoenix God, if she wished to seal anyone's phoenix profound power, or even cripple their bloodline and life, it would be but a thought.
"I swear by the name of the Phoenix God..." The girl, whose heart had been pure as dust, spoke heavy words that should not have belonged to her. "If anyone in the sect dares to harm Brother Yun again... no matter who it is, I will never forgive them. If Brother Yun dies... I will immediately sever my Phoenix Soul and Phoenix Blood!"
"Xue'er!!" Feng Xue'er's words greatly frightened Feng Hengkong. He knew very well, too well, that if Feng Xue'er died, then the Fenghuang God Sect would truly be finished, with no future, no hope. At the same time, she was his only and most beloved daughter, his greatest pride in life. He would rather die ten thousand times than have her suffer the slightest harm.
The determination in Feng Xue'er's voice was clear to the bone. With those words, no matter what, Feng Tianwei dared not make another move against Yun Che. Especially now that her Phoenix Soul had awakened, her words were like an unbreakable divine decree for everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect.
"Good... Grandfather promises Xue'er. As long as Yun Che does not actively provoke us from now on, no one in the entire clan will lay a hand on him... or those around him!" Feng Tianwei calmed his mind and spoke with an extremely sincere tone. "His destruction of the Phoenix God statue, killing of Xichen and Xiluo... all the things he did can be wiped clean, no longer pursued. On the Cang Feng Kingdom side, we will immediately order a withdrawal of troops... we can even offer certain compensations and appeasements to Cang Feng. Is that... good enough?"
Yun Che had fully withdrawn the Golden Crow domain. He and Feng Xue'er stood together at the center of the fire lotus, silently sensing the aura emanating from Feng Xue'er. Although he too had inherited the most primal phoenix blood and phoenix soul, he could feel that the purity of Feng Xue'er's phoenix bloodline was at least several hundred times greater than his own. It was likely that the combined bloodline of everyone in the Fenghuang God Sect could not match Feng Xue'er alone. The difference in Phoenix Soul was not as exaggerated, surpassing his by about double. But under a phoenix bloodline several hundred times purer than his, the phoenix pressure she released was an absolute suppression at a fundamental level.
If not for his Dragon God Soul, even he might have been unable to control himself from kneeling under this phoenix pressure.
Clearly, the Fenghuang God Sect's ancestor, the Phoenix God, had placed great importance and affection on Feng Xue'er, passing down everything to her almost without reservation.
Yun Che, who had been watching Feng Xue'er, listened to Feng Tianwei's words, his eyes turning cold. He let out a low, sneering laugh, his blade-like gaze piercing straight at Feng Tianwei. "Feng Tianwei, you seem to have completely misunderstood one thing! You wanting to kill me is indeed deserving of heavenly punishment. But me wanting to kill you is only natural and just! You trampled on my Cang Feng territory, deserving of annihilation. Even if you emptied the entire Shenhuang Kingdom to compensate Cang Feng, it would still be only natural and just! And you actually have the nerve to speak of not attacking me and withdrawing troops as if it were a favor!"
"Yun Che, don't be ungrateful!" Feng Tianwei's face also darkened.
"Who exactly is being ungrateful?" Yun Che sneered with cold contempt. "Do you really think that if Xue'er hadn't stopped me earlier, you could have killed me? Do you really think I'm naive or stupid enough to put myself in a position of death without any backup plan, just to spare you?"
"If I truly wanted to leave, Feng Tianwei, even ten of you couldn't touch a single hair on my head!" Yun Che's gaze, fixed on Feng Tianwei and Feng Hengkong, turned dangerous and sinister. "And if I truly wanted to destroy your entire clan, I wouldn't even need to do it myself... I would just need to tell certain people about something you're desperately trying to hide. I might even reap a huge benefit from it."
"...You!" Yun Che's words caused Feng Hengkong and Feng Tianwei's expressions to change drastically—his earlier confidence was indeed because he knew this secret! He and Feng Xue'er both possessed the Phoenix God's soul... perhaps that was how he knew the secret.
"Now do you understand... how much face I've already given you!" Yun Che pointed his finger directly at Feng Hengkong's face. "The two times you tried to ambush and kill me earlier, for Xue'er's sake, I can temporarily forget. But the conditions I proposed earlier—not one can be missing, not a single bit less!! Don't you dare... be ungrateful again!"
The same five words were hurled back at them several times over by Yun Che.