Chapter 742: The Day of the Duel
"Good!" Mo Li crossed her arms and slowly nodded. She had long known that once Yun Che learned his demon poison had been purified, the first thing he would think of would be to rely on her power to find Chu Yuechan's whereabouts. And her appearance before Yun Che this time was also for this very purpose.
Because she knew better than anyone that Chu Yuechan had always been a tender thorn deep in his heart and soul. Every time it was touched, it ached piercingly. Since the demon poison was gone, it was time to remove this thorn for him.
"Although my current soul body state can only release one thousandth of the power of my complete state, it is more than enough to cover a tiny Tian Xuan Continent with my divine sense."
After saying this, Mo Li's little hand had already pointed at Yun Che's sleeve. Before Yun Che could respond, a flash of light and shadow passed before his eyes, and his vision was filled with a vast white snowfield. His entire person was now at an altitude of at least a thousand zhang.
Yun Che was stunned for a moment before reacting. He had been instantly taken from inside the Ice Pavilion to a thousand zhang in the air, so fast it seemed to traverse space.
Or perhaps... it was simply space teleportation.
"I need two hundred breaths of time. Do not disturb me. Also... the reply from the Black Moon Merchant Guild should have given you enough mental preparation. Whatever the result, you must accept it!"
Mo Li opened her arms and slowly closed her eyes. A power at a level so high that Yun Che could not even detect or comprehend was released invisibly, its coverage encompassing the entire Tian Xuan Continent.
In an instant, the auras of all living beings on the entire Tian Xuan Continent were encompassed by her divine sense. Not a single one could escape.
Yun Che withdrew his profound energy, held his breath, and dared not make a sound. Inside, he was shaken and excited, unable to calm down. What shocked him was the sentence Mo Li had just said... "soul body state, can only release one thousandth of the power of my complete state"!
That is to say, every display of strength Mo Li had shown up to now, limited as she was to a soul body without a complete physical form, was merely one thousandth of her full power!!
Just how terrifying a realm was her true strength!!
And what kind of terrifying existence was the world she was born and raised in!
It was simply unimaginable!
Yun Che could not understand what it meant to cover an entire continent with divine sense. He could feel Mo Li calming her mind and focusing, trying hard to suppress her deep anticipation and anxiety, and he made sure not to make a single sound.
Xiao Xiannü... you must be safe!
No... you must be safe, just living in a place that even the Black Moon Merchant Guild cannot find. I will find you soon... and our child too.
This time, no matter who it is, even if the whole world opposes, I will never let you leave my side again.
Breath by breath, time passed. In the excruciating wait, Yun Che suddenly saw Mo Li slowly open her eyes and lower her opened arms.
His heart shook. Holding his breath, he asked urgently: "How is it? Did you find her? Where is Xiao Xiannü now? And did you find Qingyue?"
Mo Li looked at him, her eyes devoid of emotion, and said indifferently: "Still no. I underestimated the number of living beings on the Tian Xuan Continent. Moreover, in my current soul body state, the power I can release is far lower than I expected. It seems that to help you find Xiao Xiannü, I must wait until after I rebuild my body."
A clear disappointment flashed across Yun Che's face, but he quickly became relieved: "Good... In two months, I will go to the Supreme Sea Palace. No matter what, I must obtain the Netherworld Brahma Flower."
"Hopefully. However, the Netherworld Brahma Flower blooms once every twenty-four years, and the place that Zi Ji described seems quite eerie. I don't hold much expectation." Mo Li averted her gaze, not looking at Yun Che's eyes, and said flatly.
"Hmm?" Yun Che stared at her for a little while, then suddenly said with a smile: "Strange. Before, you were so eager to rebuild your body. Now we're basically just one Netherworld Brahma Flower away, yet I feel like you're not in such a hurry anymore. Could it be... you're reluctant to leave me?"
Mo Li slanted her starry eyes and gave a cold laugh: "Quite the opposite! This princess dreams of leaving you, this despicable, shameless, filthy super pervert, to save you from always dirtying my eyes and ears! Hmph!"
With that cold snort, she couldn't be bothered to pay him any more attention. She turned into a red light and returned to the Heavenly Poison Pearl, but not forgetting to remind him: "You should go to the Eastern Sea for the duel with Fen Juechen! You didn't listen to me these three months and seize Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Primordial Yin. Now I want to see how you can defeat Fen Juechen, whose strength must be far greater than three months ago!"
………………
Returning to the world of the Heavenly Poison Pearl, Mo Li's brows were deeply furrowed and did not relax for a long time. Her fair little face was also covered with a thin layer of gloom. After shouting the last sentence to Yun Che, she silently exhaled, her eyes flickering with extremely complex light.
"Crunch..." Hong'er was holding a sword she had found somewhere, eating with great joy. Seeing Mo Li's expression, she stopped chewing and moved closer to Mo Li, saying in a crisp voice: "Sister Mo Li, what's wrong with you? You were clearly very happy before, but now you seem very unhappy. Did the master bully you... Oh, no. The master has always been bullied by you; he wouldn't dare bully you."
Mo Li leaned against Hong'er's small bed and sat down, slowly closing her eyes, and said softly: "Can't find..."
"Can't find? Eh? What is it that can't be found? Is it something delicious?" Hong'er asked with high concern.
"A person very important to your master." Thinking of Yun Che's intense reaction every time regarding Chu Yuechan, Mo Li's brows furrowed even more. She was very clear: towards Chu Yuechan, Yun Che had love, and even deeper concern and guilt.
Watching Yun Che suffer setbacks with women had always been one of Mo Li's greatest pleasures. If one day Yun Che was stabbed a dozen times by a woman he wanted to extend his demonic hands to, her reaction would mostly be schadenfreude. Except for Chu Yuechan... for the first time, she dared not tell him the truth about a woman.
"Important... person? Oh!" Hearing it wasn't something delicious, Hong'er immediately lost all interest and straightforwardly stopped asking. She grabbed the purple-glowing broadsword in her hand and took a bite. Instantly, a row of neat, tooth-shaped gaps appeared on the blade.
"It seems I can only temporarily conceal it like this," Mo Li murmured to herself. "But why couldn't I even find Xia Qingyue's aura? Could it be the teleportation array of the Ice God Temple..."
——————————————————
The time was already morning. The time for the duel with Fen Juechen was getting closer.
Not only had Fen Juechen's profound force become terrifyingly powerful, but he also hated Yun Che to the bone. He probably wished for nothing more in his remaining life than to kill him. But Yun Che showed no signs of tension. Only when there was less than half an hour before the duel did he slowly drive the Primordial Mystic Ark with Feng Xue'er and arrive at Liu Yun City.
The Primordial Mystic Ark did not arrive above Liu Yun City, but at the eastern suburbs of Liu Yun City.
Leaving the Primordial Mystic Ark, Feng Xue'er tightly grasped Yun Che's sleeve and said with misty eyes: "Brother Yun, really can't I go with you? I... am still so worried."
"I told you it's fine," Yun Che said with a relaxed smile. "I said back then it would be one-on-one with Fen Juechen, no outsiders will participate. Besides, even if I can't beat him, I still have the Primordial Mystic Ark. I can escape far away at any time, so you don't need to worry at all. Moreover... I have full confidence in defeating him."
"Hmm... Of course I believe Brother Yun," Feng Xue'er said softly, but her trembling eyes still showed deep worry.
"Alright, go to Grandpa and Little Aunt's place. I might only return after dark. Tell them not to worry at all. I will try to move the location of the fight with Fen Juechen farther away, but there might still be shockwaves hitting Liu Yun City. I'll need Xue'er to protect their safety." Yun Che patted Feng Xue'er's little hand. From the beginning, he had not planned to see Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi, because that would only increase their worry.
"Also, if Little Aunt insists on coming to find me, you must not agree," Yun Che instructed.
"Hmm, I know all this. Brother Yun, rest assured. With me here, none of them will be in danger," Feng Xue'er said softly.
With Feng Xue'er's strength as an Eighth-rank Emperor Lord, even if Yun Che and Fen Juechen joined forces, plus Xia Yuanba, they would be no match. So with her by Xiao Lingxi's side, Yun Che naturally didn't need to worry at all.
"Then I'm going now... After the sky fully darkens, I will definitely return. Wait for me obediently."
Yun Che cupped Feng Xue'er's face and kissed her sweet lips firmly. Then he activated Phantom Lightning Extreme, instantly turning into a bolt of lightning shooting towards the east.
"Brother Yun..." Watching Yun Che's departing figure, Feng Xue'er nervously clasped her hands in front of her. After a long while, she turned around and flew towards Liu Yun City at a very slow speed.
With Yun Che's current realm, plus Phantom Lightning Extreme, a distance of several hundred miles was nothing to him. He flew over Liu Yun City's area, through a large stretch of damp mountainous terrain. Soon, the coastline of the Tian Xuan Eastern Sea appeared in his sight. Yun Che's speed immediately increased again; behind him, the distance to Liu Yun City grew greater and greater.
No clouds, no wind for ten thousand li. Today, the Eastern Sea was very calm. On the sea surface, only rings of shimmering ripples appeared. As the coast neared, a strong ocean smell hit him. Yun Che lightly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, his vision was filled with a vast blue ocean.
He had arrived above the Eastern Sea.
Yun Che slowed down at this moment until he stopped. Before him, a black figure floated there alone. He didn't know how long he had been waiting there. From head to toe, he emitted a lifeless aura and a bone-piercing cold. Other than that, there was not a trace of the life aura that living people have. It was as if floating there was not a living person, but a corpse. Even the large sea area beneath him was dead silent, without a ripple, like a stretch of stagnant water deprived of life.
"It seems you came quite early," Yun Che said with a light smile, stopping a hundred zhang behind him. The aura on Fen Juechen was extremely dark and fierce, enough to make one feel fear just by approaching, but it wasn't enough to affect Yun Che.
The black-clothed man turned around. A pair of pitch-black pupils stared fixedly at Yun Che. His face was stiff and pale, his eyes lifeless, without a hint of light. In just an instant, a fierce, violent, and extremely ruthless killing intent locked onto Yun Che. The light released from those black eyes was so sinister it seemed to turn into two sharp swords to tear Yun Che's body apart.
"You actually dared to come alone!" Fen Juechen said in a low voice. Here, there were no external distractions. He could freely release his hatred and killing intent towards Yun Che.
"Or else?" Yun Che crossed his arms, his face full of disdain. "Back then, I slaughtered your entire Fen Tian sect alone. Now it's just dealing with a pitiful worm I mercifully let go back then. Why would I need to find any helpers?"
"Seek... Death!!!"
Yun Che's words undoubtedly detonated Fen Juechen's already peak anger and killing intent. With a beast-like roar, he suddenly thrust out his right arm. A large black hand extended from the void, grabbing at Yun Che's whole body. In the area covered by the black hand, the sea instantly sank dozens of zhang.
Yun Che squinted, his figure flickered, and used Star God Remnant Shadow to dodge the black hand. Then he said with a cold smile: "Getting so angry from just one simple sentence from me. It seems though your profound force has grown a lot these years, your mental state has made no progress. How can such a you defeat me?"
Boom———————
In the extremely heavy booming sound, the area below where Yun Che had been turned into a huge whirlpool, bringing the sea wind into chaos.
Fen Juechen's eyes seemed to turn into demonic blood pupils. His aura became several times more violent. "You—"
"This place is very close to Liu Yun City. You don't want our fight to harm Liu Yun City, do you?" Yun Che's heavy words blocked Fen Juechen's voice. "You also don't want outsiders to detect us and come near to disturb our life-and-death grudge settlement. Better choose a more suitable place."
Yun Che finished, and without waiting for Fen Juechen's response, flew towards the deep sea area in the east.
Fen Juechen's dark eyes still locked onto Yun Che, but he did not attack again. Instead, he flew closely behind Yun Che towards the east. Facing Yun Che's Phantom Lightning Extreme, his speed did not fall behind at all.
"Mo Li, what level is his profound force now? I can indeed feel that his aura is much stronger than three months ago," Yun Che asked cautiously.
"Sovereign Xuan Realm, Level 6!" Mo Li said coldly. "Same level as Feng Tianwei, who made you flee in disgrace at the Fenghuang God Sect! Though his profound force is not as abundant as Feng Tianwei's, his profound art is special. Overall, he might even slightly surpass Feng Tianwei! Let's see how you handle this!"
"Hiss... So exaggerated!!" Though he had mentally prepared, Yun Che still sharply inhaled. Three months ago, Fen Juechen was at Sovereign Xuan Realm, Level 5! And a single small level increase within the Sovereign Xuan Realm, even for forces with extremely rich resources and heritage like Sacred Grounds and Guardian Clans, takes a hundred or even hundreds of years. Even with heaven-defying talent, it takes decades. But Fen Juechen took only three months!
"What exactly is the deal with his exaggerated strength and growth speed?" Yun Che groaned quietly.
"When you fight him, try to force him to use his full power. As long as he uses his source power, I might be able to roughly figure out all his secrets... including what soul he has fused with!"