Chapter 842: Last Hope
The Little Demon Empress activated her profound force to its fullest. Though she was carrying six people, her speed was still extremely fast, and before she realized it, she had flown several hundred li.
At this moment, however, the Little Demon Empress slowed down and suddenly asked, "Yun Che has a wife who was formally married to him in the Tian Xuan Continent, and she was also a princess of a nation. Where is she now?"
"It's Sister Cang Yue," Feng Xue'er replied. "But she is no longer a princess now; she has become the emperor of the Cang Feng Empire, and she is within the imperial city."
"..." The Little Demon Empress turned her head. "Tell me the direction. We'll head to the imperial city first!"
Thus, the Little Demon Empress changed direction and arrived at Cangfeng Imperial City. She charged directly into the imperial hall, without a single word of explanation, forcibly took Cang Yue, who had no idea what was happening, and then flew straight north, heading toward the Ice Extreme Snow Domain.
Today, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace was as cold and quiet as ever. Anyone who came here would find their state of mind calm like the endless ice and snow here.
For Yun Che, all the women of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace held deep respect, gratitude, and dependence. As for Feng Xue'er, there was not a single one who did not genuinely like her. Their engagement was also great news for the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, but they were completely unaware that the situation had taken a drastic turn.
At dusk, an extremely terrifying wave of air suddenly rolled up from the south of the peaceful, snowing Ice Extreme Snow Domain. Mu Rong Qianxue and others from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace sensed it almost simultaneously, quickly gathered together, and rushed outside the palace gates.
"Who is it?!" Mu Rong Qianxue shouted sharply, her voice carried by profound energy for dozens of li. But in the next instant, several figures appeared before them as if teleporting.
Behind them, hundreds of zhang of wind and snow surged high into the air.
"All senior and junior masters, quickly... quickly take us to the Cold Pool!!" Feng Xue'er was holding Yun Che in her arms as she jumped down from the air. Without time to explain, she urgently called out.
"Snow Princess? These... who are they?" Mu Rong Qianxue and the others were stunned. The Bing Yun Fairy Palace rarely received outsiders, and that had been the case for a thousand years. Although Yun Che was the palace master, out of respect for the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, he very rarely brought outsiders here. Besides Feng Xue'er, he had only brought Xiao Yun here—and that was for an important reason.
But this time, Feng Xue'er had brought so many unfamiliar faces. Most importantly, today was supposed to be the engagement day of their palace master and Feng Xue'er, so why had she suddenly returned here?
But their astonishment lasted only a moment. They suddenly noticed that the person Feng Xue'er was holding in her arms was Yun Che. Instantly, all six of them felt as if struck by lightning and surrounded him in panic. "Palace... Palace Master?! What happened? Who injured the Palace Master..."
"Did you not hear what was said just now?!" The Little Demon Empress coldly rebuked. "If you don't want him to die, take us to that place called the Bingyun Cold Pool immediately."
"Senior and junior masters... hurry... only that place can save Brother Yun," Feng Xue'er said, her voice choked with tears.
"Hurry and follow us!" Mu Rong Qianxue did not ask another word. She activated her profound energy to its fullest. The moment she turned around, she waved her hand, instantly dispelling all the restrictions on the palace gates. She rushed ahead at the fastest speed, while her voice, both authoritative and trembling slightly, spread throughout the entire Bing Yun Fairy Palace: "All disciples near the Cold Pool, including Wu Xuexin and Shui Hanyin, hear my command! Go and lift all the restrictions around the Cold Pool immediately! This is a matter of life and death for the Palace Master—not a single breath must be delayed!"
Ever since the disaster they had suffered before, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had set up many new restrictions, especially around the Bingyun Cold Pool at its core. These restrictions were so strong that even Feng Xue'er would need a lot of time and effort to break them forcibly.
But from the palace gates to the Cold Pool, Mu Rong Qianxue and the other five used the most brutal methods to remove all the restrictions. When they charged to the center of the ice palace, the restrictions around the Cold Pool had already been completely lifted. Feeling the extremely dense and high-level cold energy, the Little Demon Empress directly snatched Yun Che from Feng Xue'er's arms and, with a single teleporting motion, threw him into the Cold Pool, which was billowing with white mist.
"Little Demon Empress... Sister, can this really save Brother Yun?" Feng Xue'er asked timidly, her voice full of worry.
"..." The Little Demon Empress remained silent, then said quietly, "A year ago, he was heavily injured by Prince Huai's attack and was forced with me into the Sea of Death. The Sea of Death normally kills anyone who touches it, but he was not only unharmed, but his injuries also healed quickly. Later, when I asked him, he said that pure flame energy not only cannot harm him, but can be absorbed by him to quickly recover his vitality and profound energy. He also mentioned that the same applies not only to fire, but also to ice."
"Although the energy density and level of this Cold Pool are far from comparable to the Sea of Death, it does indeed contain extremely pure and dense ice energy. At least it hasn't disappointed me too much."
"Then... then Brother Yun can be saved?" Feng Xue'er said excitedly.
The Little Demon Empress stared fixedly at Yun Che as he sank into the water, her voice as cold as frost: "The level of the power that injured him is extremely high, and it is still lingering inside his body. My strength is not even enough to expel that power, let alone heal his injuries. Relying solely on this mere Cold Pool is utterly impossible to save him. In this Cold Pool, he could still die in the next breath... What I hope for is that this Cold Pool can give him a little more vitality, allowing him to awaken one more time before death, and then activate the Primordial Mystic Ark to return to the Huan Yao Realm. That is the only hope."
Mu Rong Qianxue and the other five had long been dumbfounded. Chu Yueli stepped forward and said urgently, "Snow Princess, what exactly happened? Who... who injured the Palace Master?"
"I don't know," Feng Xue'er shook her head in pain. "I was right beside Brother Yun at the time, but I didn't even see who struck him."
"All of you retreat. There is no need for too many people here," the Little Demon Empress commanded. Every word she spoke carried an authority that made it impossible to disobey. The Six Immortals of Bing Yun had all achieved the Overlord Emperor realm, but under this oppressive aura, they could hardly breathe. At the same time, not a single one of them left.
"The people outside the palace gates right now are all Yun Che's relatives. You should go and settle them in. Especially three of them, whose profound strength is low and cannot withstand the cold here," the Little Demon Empress said coldly.
Feng Xue'er snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream and said urgently, "Ah... Grandpa Xiao, Auntie, and Sister Cang Yue are still outside. If they stay here long, they will surely be frostbitten. Senior and junior masters, I beg you to take care of Grandpa Xiao and the others. We will stay here and guard Brother Yun without leaving for even a moment."
Mu Rong Qianxue hesitated briefly, then slowly nodded. "Alright... If the Palace Master wakes up, you must inform us immediately."
"Han Yue, immediately go and personally seal all the palace gates and activate the defensive profound arrays. Han Xue, go to the Condensing Snow Hall and fetch all the healing jade liquids. Lian Qie and Lan Yi, order all disciples to be on alert day and night. Yue Li, let's go."
Mu Rong Qianxue was very clear that the situation was not simply that Yun Che had suffered extremely severe injuries and might die at any moment. The hidden crisis behind this was certainly far more terrifying than the previous disaster.
The Six Immortals of Bing Yun left. The Little Demon Empress turned around, her eyes like dark night stars, and looked at Feng Xue'er—this was also the first time she truly examined her. "Your name is Feng Xue'er?"
"Yes," Feng Xue'er nodded lightly. "Little Demon Empress Sister, I have often heard Brother Yun mention you. I also know that when Brother Yun was in the Huan Yao Realm, he was already married to you."
"...Did you really not see who hurt him?"
"No," Feng Xue'er shook her head in disappointment. "I was right next to Brother Yun at the time. Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather were all there too, but none of us knew what had happened. I only heard Brother Yun shout loudly, and then he pushed me away. When I turned around, Brother Yun had already... already..."
"..." The Little Demon Empress was silent for a long time, then said in a detached, expressionless tone, "Tell me everything that happened after he returned to this continent. Tell me everything you know, and don't leave out any detail."
"En," Feng Xue'er agreed without any hesitation.
On the Little Demon Empress, she saw the power that had routed the Three Sacred Masters—an oppressive aura and indifference that made one suffocate. Even in the face of Yun Che, who might die completely at any moment, she remained so calm that she seemed to have no emotional fluctuations at all, so calm that it was as if his life and death were completely irrelevant.
But even more clearly, Feng Xue'er saw that from the very first moment she had laid eyes on the Little Demon Empress, every single one of her actions, words, and even her terrifying calmness—there was not a single moment that was not for Yun Che.
Her aura was suffocating, but it also gave Feng Xue'er, who was at a complete loss, a tremendous sense of trust and even dependence.
——————
The Bingyun Cold Pool had existed for far longer than the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. It was located at the core of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, which was also the core of the Ice Extreme Snow Domain. In this extremely cold region, it remained unfrozen since ancient times. Its spring water was crystal clear, so clear that every grain of sand and stone at the bottom could be seen. The cold energy contained within it far surpassed that of profound ice. Usually, this was the bathing place for the women of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. Immersing oneself in it could calm the mind and also soothe restless cold energy.
These days, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace was on alert day and night, and the Bingyun Cold Pool had become the greatest forbidden area. Not only were Bing Yun disciples forbidden from approaching, but even sound was firmly isolated.
The already quiet Bing Yun Fairy Palace had become even more eerily silent these days, shrouded in an unprecedented sense of oppression.
One day... two days... three days... seven days... ten days...
Over the ten days, Yun Che's body had been quietly submerged in the Cold Pool. In this Cold Pool, even a corpse would remain unchanged for thousands of years. During these ten days, the Little Demon Empress had stayed above the Cold Pool without ever leaving. Her aura was constantly connected to Yun Che's body, not deviating for even an instant.
Ten days passed, and Yun Che showed no movement, nor any sign of awakening. His severe injuries had not healed at all. The last trace of life force was as weak as it had been ten days ago, but it clung stubbornly to his body, never fully dispersing, and tenaciously preserving that last faint glimmer of hope.
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