Chapter 834: The Power of the Demon Path
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Before leaving, Mo Li deliberately did not eliminate those who posed the greatest threats to Yun Che... especially Xuanyuan Wentian and Ye Meixie, with whom he had deep enmity. The most important reason was that she believed that even if Yun Che was not their match, he would never fall into their hands.
She knew Yun Che's character well, and she knew all of his trump cards, so she was certain of this.
Yun Che only needed to use the Primordial Mystic Ark to return to the Huan Yao Realm first, avoiding the Four Sacred Grounds. With his talent, surpassing the Four Sacred Masters was merely a matter of time. And if he couldn't even wait for a short period of a dozen years, he could directly engage in dual cultivation with Feng Xue'er. By borrowing Feng Xue'er's Phoenix Yin Essence, his strength would skyrocket in a short time—and as for how much it would skyrocket, even she could not predict.
At the same time, Feng Xue'er would also be affected by his Dragon God Bloodline, greatly promoting the awakening of her Phoenix Soul. By then, the two of them together, plus Xiao Yaohou, would mean that no one in either the Tian Xuan Continent or the Huan Yao Realm could threaten them anymore.
Thus, she left behind the Four Sacred Grounds, which Yun Che could not yet face, for him to deal with personally later. And she had no worries whatsoever.
But the turn of events completely deviated from her expectations.
And the cause of this deviation was not the power of the Tian Xuan Continent, but Yu Luo!
In the end, less than half an hour after she had resolutely left, Yun Che had already fallen into the greatest crisis of his two lifetimes.
The moment Xuanyuan Wentian's aura locked onto her, Feng Xue'er's already terrified heart plunged into an icy abyss. She hugged Yun Che tightly, his body covered in blood, and her Phoenix Flame blazed high as she desperately activated all her power, fleeing northward at the fastest speed she could muster.
Her talent was unparalleled. Even without fully awakening her power, she already stood at the pinnacle of the Tian Xuan Continent. But the one chasing her was none other than Xuanyuan Wentian! No matter how hard she tried, that terrifying aura drew closer and closer, and the aura locked onto her grew colder and heavier.
She turned around. On the distant horizon, she saw a blurry black dot, which was rapidly growing larger in her sight.
She glanced at Yun Che in her arms, and the terror in her eyes slowly turned into heartbreak and tenderness... Back then, on the Primordial Mystic Ark, Yun Che had carried her in his arms and fled for their lives. He could have stayed out of it, or even actively handed her over to Ye Xinghan to save himself and even gain some "benefits." But he didn't. His arms never loosened their grip on her... even when Ye Xinghan was right behind them.
It was at that moment that his name and image were deeply engraved into the very core of her soul.
Feng Xue'er's speed gradually slowed, because she knew that behind her was Xuanyuan Wentian. No matter how she fled, it was futile.
"Brother Yun, Xue'er doesn't have the ability to protect you well... but Brother Yun, rest assured, no matter where you go, I will... always be with you..."
After saying this, Feng Xue'er's heart suddenly lost all fear, and her speed completely slowed... Just as she was about to turn around and face Xuanyuan Wentian directly, a figure, with an aura of bone-chilling coldness, appeared like a ghost in front of her.
Feng Xue'er let out a soft exclamation and came to a complete stop, staring blankly at the sudden figure before her: "You..."
Wearing black clothes, with half-open eyes that held a faint black gleam, almost no white visible, and even around his body, a faint black mist swirled. Slanted across his back was a large black sword—the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword!
This person was none other than Fen Juechen!
The demon blood within him had awakened, and his power had exploded in growth over the past ten-odd days. He had come to the Shenhuang City today to rely on his surging power to kill the person he wanted to kill most... and the one he wanted to kill the most was naturally Xuanyuan Wentian!
Because it was he who had caused the extinction of the Eternal Night Royal Clan a thousand years ago!
He believed that Xuanyuan Wentian would definitely attend today's engagement banquet of Yun Che and Feng Xue'er.
He wasn't exactly sure of Xuanyuan Wentian's true strength, but the confidence brought by his surging power and the deep-seated resentment accumulated in the depths of his soul made him unable to control his urge to vent his hatred immediately. The first person he encountered upon arriving at Shenhuang City was Yun Che. Although their words clashed and enraged him, Yun Che's words did pour cold water on his agitated mind and made him sober up quite a bit.
The Phoenix City, where the engagement banquet was held, gathered heroes from all sides. Fen Juechen stood at the entrance of Phoenix City for a long time, ultimately choosing self-control and turning away—Yun Che's words had indeed struck a chord. His demon blood had only just awakened, with much room for improvement. If he fell due to a moment of impulse, everything he had endured would come to naught.
After that, he left Shenhuang City.
But he never expected to encounter Feng Xue'er and Yun Che here... along with Xuanyuan Wentian, who was alone behind them!
"He's dead!?" Fen Juechen stared at Yun Che, covered in blood and showing no sign of life in Feng Xue'er's arms, and said coldly.
"Don't talk nonsense!" The word "death" now stabbed at the most fragile nerve in Feng Xue'er's heart. She shook her head desperately: "Brother Yun won't die... Brother Yun won't die that easily!"
"..." The black light in Fen Juechen's pupils trembled slightly, and Xiao Lingxi's light but resolute voice echoed in his mind...
"... Back then, the reason I didn't follow him was that I couldn't leave Father alone and lonely. Now that Father has Xiao Yun... if something happens to Little Che, I will surely follow him immediately. I won't let him be lonely in another world..."
"Hisss..."
The corner of Fen Juechen's mouth twitched slightly, and the black mist around him swayed restlessly like smoke blown by a chaotic wind.
"If he's not dead, then take him and leave quickly!!" In a sudden roar, Fen Juechen's eyes fully opened, fixated on the rapidly approaching black shadow behind Feng Xue'er. Between his clenched teeth, a bone-chilling voice sounded: "Xu... yuan... wen... Tian!!"
BOOM!!
In the sound of a chilling and surging air explosion, Fen Juechen shot past Feng Xue'er's side like a black bolt of lightning, charging at Xuanyuan Wentian with astonishing demonic energy and killing intent, accompanied by a roar filled with endless hatred: "Xuanyuan Wentian, your life is mine!!"
Feng Xue'er was stunned for a moment.
Suddenly encountering Fen Juechen, her heart had originally sunk. Compared to Xuanyuan Wentian, Fen Juechen was the one in this world who wanted to kill Yun Che the most. And at this moment, it was his best chance.
But instead of taking advantage of the situation to attack, he... charged at Xuanyuan Wentian, who was chasing them.
She had witnessed with her own eyes, and felt with her own senses, the intense and terrifying hatred and killing intent Fen Juechen had toward Yun Che. But now, he was doing something completely contradictory!?
Without looking back, she accelerated to the utmost, rushing toward an unknown distance. In the blink of an eye, she felt the locked-on aura disappear, and Xuanyuan Wentian's presence grew farther and farther away.
BOOM!!!!
A black light screen suddenly spread across the sky, dimming the world's light somewhat. At the same time, a formless sword radiance, as if descending from the heavens, instantly cut the black light screen in two, along with a mountain peak below that was cleanly sliced.
Rumble...
Dark clouds rolled across the sky as if a storm were about to break. Beneath the split black light screen, the gazes of Xuanyuan Wentian and Fen Juechen collided. Xuanyuan Wentian was initially startled, but upon seeing it was Fen Juechen, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a strange, unfathomable smile appeared on his lips.
"To be able to use power at this level, there are no more than ten people in the entire Tian Xuan Continent. I thought it was one of those ten deliberately trying to ruin my plans, but it turns out to be... tsk tsk." Xuanyuan Wentian crossed his arms over his chest, sizing up Fen Juechen, especially pausing for a long time on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword behind him. The smile on his lips grew even more peculiar.
Judging by his leisurely demeanor, he clearly wasn't in a hurry to chase the increasingly distant Feng Xue'er.
"Xuanyuan Wentian! Today... is your death day!" Fen Juechen was like a lone wolf facing his mortal enemy. He reached out and slowly drew the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword from his back. Instantly, a dozen black thunderbolts struck the void around him. The pitch-black sword body swirled with black light, and a terrifyingly cold aura radiated outward.
Fortunately, beneath them was a barren land, not a town; otherwise, the entire town would have been shrouded in the dark pressure.
"Oh?" Xuanyuan Wentian still wore a smiling expression, making no posture to confront the enemy: "Aren't you going to explain why you want to kill this Sword Master?"
"Go ask the Yama King in hell yourself!"
The black light in Fen Juechen's pupils flashed, and the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword in his hand swept up a black gleam, crashing toward Xuanyuan Wentian.
This sword strike had no forewarning and no buildup, but it carried Fen Juechen's endless hatred and killing intent. And at the instant this seemingly casual and ordinary strike was swung, the void before him instantly compressed together. Vast dark power converged crazily from all directions. In a moment, the tip of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword actually churned into a massive black maelstrom.
Xuanyuan Wentian's originally relaxed and casual expression stiffened abruptly. He suddenly felt his body sink as if into a quagmire, accompanied by an increasingly heavy and uncomfortable sensation. In his ears, countless evil ghosts and vengeful spirits seemed to wail. Before his eyes, there was a slight blur, and a hellish scene of corpses covering the fields and piled like mountains appeared... He even smelled the pungent stench of blood.
With two thousand years of cultivation, Xuanyuan Wentian's knowledge and experience were vast. He instantly realized that the opponent's dark aura was actually affecting his mind and soul!
More precisely, it was suppressing his mind and soul!
The first glimpse of Fen Juechen had already surprised him with the extent of Fen Juechen's power surge. This sword strike made him realize with even greater shock that what he had just seen wasn't even Fen Juechen's full power... This single strike could directly overwhelm his mind and soul.
And this clearly meant that Fen Juechen's current strength was approaching his own level!!
Shocked, Xuanyuan Wentian immediately abandoned all contempt and carelessness. He unleashed his profound energy without reserve, condensing countless formless sword lights into a massive sword array.
Shhhhhh...
Space was mercilessly torn apart. The Heaven's Might Sword Qi penetrated the dark maelstrom, but the tearing sound was not harsh; instead, it was as eerie and horrifying as ghostly wails and demonic howls.
Fen Juechen's eyes widened, the whites completely vanishing from his pupils. His dark aura exploded like raging waves, and a terrifying, indescribable power poured onto Xuanyuan Wentian.
The massive Heaven's Might Sword Array froze momentarily, like a block of ice. Even Xuanyuan Wentian's face showed a flicker of astonishment—this was no ordinary sword array, but one from him, Xuanyuan Wentian! In the Tian Xuan Continent, the only ones who could stand against this array head-on were Huangji Wuyu, Qu Fengyi, and Ye Meixie. He never dreamed that his sword array, used with nearly full force, would not only fail to disperse Fen Juechen but actually make him feel suppressed.
However, he was not panicked. After the shock, what shone deep in his eyes was scorching, wild joy.
"Heaven's Might Ultimate Sword... Sky Severing!"
Ding!!!!
A sword radiance several li long stretched across the somewhat dim sky, as if splitting the heavens apart. Beneath this earth-shattering sword light, both Xuanyuan Wentian's sword array and Fen Juechen's dark maelstrom disintegrated simultaneously, scattering into chaotic currents of profound energy.
Though only chaotic currents, to the fragile land below, they were like a raging hurricane. In an instant, the land was ravaged beyond recognition. Several low hills were flattened, and the earth was covered in a thick layer of dust.
A vast, unparalleled sword intent pressed down like a mountain on Fen Juechen's chest, forcing him to retreat in panic. But he immediately halted, his pitch-black pupils fixed firmly on Xuanyuan Wentian.
"Hahaha... hahahahaha..."
In contrast, Xuanyuan Wentian, faced with an enemy far stronger than expected, was not flustered but instead burst into unbridled laughter: "Magnificent! Truly magnificent! I thought you were just recklessly charging at me, unable to control your emotions. It turns out you had enough confidence."
"Tsk... tsk tsk! Nineteen days!" Xuanyuan Wentian sighed with laughter. "In just nineteen short days, your strength has soared to this level... hahahaha! Truly magnificent! The Demon Venerable didn't deceive me... Oh no, it's even more surprising than the Demon Venerable described! My thousand years of painstaking effort have not been in vain."
Fen Juechen: "???"
"Truly worthy of... the power at the Demon God level." Xuanyuan Wentian stopped laughing. He stared at Fen Juechen, his pupils dilating, radiating the most intense greed, joy, and madness in his lifetime: "Truly worthy of... the power born from the reunion of the demon blood and demon soul that had been separated for a thousand years!"
Fen Juechen's pitch-black pupils suddenly widened, and he let out a low growl: "You... what did you say!?"