Chapter 848: Despair Prison
From Xiao Yaohou's defeat of Xuanyuan Wentian to Xuanyuan Wentian turning the tables and sealing Xiao Yaohou within a Dark Abyss, while they were still gripped by immense terror, the extinguished Golden Crow Flame suddenly roared up again, incinerating all the sky-covering darkness...
The hearts of Tianxia Diyi and the others endured violent impacts, one after another.
The Dark Profound Force and Xuanyuan Wentian's aura had completely vanished, and not a trace of snow-white remained in their field of vision. Just as they were about to cheer, they suddenly noticed that the Golden Crow Flame filling the sky was extinguishing at an abnormally fast rate. Moreover, while they could no longer sense Xuanyuan Wentian's presence, they could not detect Xiao Yaohou's aura either.
"Sister Xiao Yaohou!"
Feng Xue'er cried out in panic, quickly dispelling the Phoenix Flame Barrier, and then flew toward Xiao Yaohou's location with a trail of crimson flames.
In the span of three hundred li, Feng Xue'er rapidly closed the distance and arrived at the place where Xiao Yaohou and Xuanyuan Wentian had fought fiercely. Amidst the scattered flames, she swiftly found Xiao Yaohou. She lay quietly on the charred, dried earth, her colorful garments still untouched, the bloodstains at the corners of her mouth shocking, and her aura extremely weak.
Feng Xue'er descended quickly and came to Xiao Yaohou's side. Sensing that Xiao Yaohou was unharmed, she relaxed slightly inside. Her gaze, as she looked at Xiao Yaohou, became particularly complex.
Before meeting Xiao Yaohou, because of her relationship with Yun Che and her title of "Xiao Yaohou," Feng Xue'er had harbored a deep curiosity and a kind of complex emotion she couldn't name. Today, she finally met Xiao Yaohou... Her strength, far beyond expectations, her majesty, coldness, decisiveness, and calmness.
Compared to her own youthful immaturity and lingering naivete, Xiao Yaohou gave Feng Xue'er a feeling of unattainability.
Now, she lay there, as weak as a mortal, but the figure reflected in her pupils was even heavier than before.
She had saved all of them single-handedly.
Feng Xue'er crouched down, carefully lifted Xiao Yaohou's upper body, and gently called out, "Sister Xiao Yaohou..."
Both inheritors of the Divine Phoenix bloodline, she recognized at a glance that Xiao Yaohou had clearly burned her own Golden Crow Source Blood. Though she was now extremely weak, apart from that, she hadn't suffered too serious injuries. However, for at least the next month, her Golden Crow bloodline would be completely dormant, unable to ignite Golden Crow Flame again.
"I'm fine," Xiao Yaohou said, her face pale but her voice still calm with a hint of chill. After these three words, she closed her eyes wearily and did not open them for a long time. Her chest rose and fell slowly. Not only had her Golden Crow bloodline gone dormant, but her profound power was also completely depleted.
Feng Xue'er gently supported Xiao Yaohou's body. The weight in her arms was as light as fluff; it was hard to imagine such a slender frame could contain such terrifying power. "The aura of Xuanyuan Wentian has completely vanished. That great villain has finally met his deserved end."
"Are they... all right?" Xiao Yaohou asked softly.
"Mm!" Feng Xue'er nodded heavily. "None of us are hurt. All thanks to Sister Xiao Yaohou. We'll find a place to settle down for now... Big Brother Yun will surely wake up soon."
As she spoke, Feng Xue'er pressed her palm against Xiao Yaohou's chest and generously transferred her Phoenix Origin Energy to her.
Xiao Yaohou did not refuse. Soon, some color returned to her face, and the rise and fall of her chest gradually steadied.
"Xiao Yaohou!"
Tianxia Diyi and Xiao Yun practically stumbled over. After landing, they didn't even pause to catch their breath, gasping out, "Xiao Yaohou... how is she..."
"Don't worry." Feng Xue'er moved her hand away from Xiao Yaohou's chest and said with a smile, "Sister Xiao Yaohou is truly amazing. She wasn't seriously injured, just a bit weak. And..." She hesitated, but considering Tianxia Diyi and Xiao Yun's identities, she added, "Moreover, she won't be able to use Golden Crow Flame for at least a month."
Feng Xue'er's words made Tianxia Diyi immediately understand that Xiao Yaohou had burned her Golden Crow Source Blood. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, then clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth. "It's fine. Once we return to the Huan Yao Realm, with our Guardian Clans protecting her, no one will dare to harm a single hair on Xiao Yaohou's head."
"Hmph!" Xiao Yaohou suddenly opened her eyes and snorted coldly. "If your Guardian Clans were truly that capable, the Huan Yao Imperial Clan would not have withered to only me, and almost been pushed to the brink!"
Leaning on Feng Xue'er's arm, she slowly stood up. Though she still had no profound power and relied only on the energy Feng Xue'er had transferred to regain the strength to stand, her boundless majesty still forced Tianxia Diyi and Xiao Yun to lower their heads involuntarily.
"It is... my incompetence," Tianxia Diyi said with deep shame. Without Yun Che, relying solely on the Guardian Clans, where would the Huan Yao Imperial Clan be now...
"It's good that Xiao Yaohou is unharmed," Xiao Yun also said with an awkward smile, not daring to look up.
This great crisis had been resolved in a tragic manner. The cost was not only the dormancy of Xiao Yaohou's Golden Crow blood and her depleted profound power, but also the disappearance of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace and the Ice Extreme Snow Domain.
The Golden Crow Flame had completely extinguished, but its aftereffects lingered. The originally bone-chilling cold of the Ice Extreme Snow Domain was now filled with an unbearable heat.
Feng Xue'er lifted Xiao Yaohou, and the four of them quickly reunited with Tianxia Diqi, Cang Yue, Xiao Lie, Xiao Lingxi, and the women of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
Murong Qianxue approached Xiao Yaohou and bowed deeply. "If not for you, Senior, our Bing Yun Fairy Palace would have perished here. The two thousand disciples of our palace will forever remember this life-saving grace."
"No need!" Xiao Yaohou's voice was cold. "Xuanyuan Wentian was someone I had to kill. Whether you live or die is irrelevant to me."
Murong Qianxue paused, then nodded slightly, said no more, and turned to check on Yun Che's condition.
With Xiao Yaohou defeating Xuanyuan Wentian and Feng Xue'er's full protection, aside from Xiao Yaohou, none of them were injured, and Yun Che seemed unaffected. This was undoubtedly a great blessing within the misfortune.
"Let's leave here and find a place to settle down. With such a huge commotion, it will surely attract many people," Tianxia Diqi said, still looking shaken. She touched her lower abdomen and added resentfully, "That despicable Xuanyuan Wentian—I never thought he'd be so formidable. And he's even more insidious and hateful than Ming Wang! When Dad and the others find out, they'll be shocked too. Letting him die like that is too easy for him!"
"Right!" Tianxia Diyi gritted his teeth as well. "He should have been treated like Ming Wang—crippled in both profound power and limbs, subjected to daily torture, and kept alive at all costs. Let him live forever in pain and despair!"
"Heh... an excellent suggestion."
The low, sneering, and hoarse voice was as sinister as if it came from hell.
In an instant, everyone's hearts seized. The heat in the air seemed to turn into the most extreme cold, as countless bone-piercing chills invaded through every pore, stabbing straight into the depths of their souls.
Boom!!
The quiet ground exploded with a column of black light shooting skyward. As the black light faded, a black figure appeared at the edge of the cracked ground. He was entirely charred, his face covered in blood, a thick layer of dark aura swirling around him violently. The massive black sword in his hand emitted a grim, eerie radiance.
"Ah... ah... ah..." Xiao Yun's mouth hung wide open, but he couldn't form a single complete word.
"Xuanyuan... Wentian!" Tianxia Diyi's pupils shrank to the extreme. His whole body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave; his liver and gallbladder seemed to split.
"You..." Xiao Yaohou's body swayed violently. Even she couldn't believe her own eyes.
They had only just sunk into a brief, hard-won relief before being dragged into even greater terror. Xuanyuan Wentian was not dead. He had returned as if from hell, reappearing before them with boundless cold and resentment.
And among them, the only one who could contend with him—Xiao Yaohou—now had no power left at all.
"I have already become a Demon God... yet you... you made me taste the flavor of fear and death! Unforgivable... Unforgivable!"
Xuanyuan Wentian dragged his demonic sword forward, his steps slow and heavy, his body even swaying slightly, and his aura far weaker than before. But within it was a bitterness, anger, and murderous intent dozens of times more intense than before.
"Everyone, run!"
Feng Xue'er shouted urgently. A gust of wind swept up, pushing everyone backward, while her body transformed into a Phoenix Flame afterimage, striking at Xuanyuan Wentian with "Phoenix Wing Firmament."
Xuanyuan Wentian's bloodstained eyes widened as he let out a beast-like roar. His demonic sword met Feng Xue'er's flame radiance with a violent clash.
Puff!
The flame radiance exploded, instantly splitting the earth with a crack several li long and several zhang wide. Amidst the exploding light, Xuanyuan Wentian staggered back more than ten steps, while Feng Xue'er was sent flying backward like a fallen leaf. She barely managed to land, but before she could steady herself, a spray of bright red blood burst from her mouth, staining the ground in front of her.
Though Xuanyuan Wentian was gravely injured and his profound power greatly depleted, he was still a man with one foot in the Divine Xuan Realm, wielding the Eternal Night Demonic Sword with its awakened demon soul. He was not someone Feng Xue'er could handle.
"Snow Princess!" Everyone panicked. Feng Hanyue and Feng Hanxue quickly rushed forward to support her.
"I... I'm fine." Feng Xue'er's vision darkened, and the profound energy throughout her body churned like boiling magma. Her full-force Phoenix Wing Firmament had been met with an equally tremendous backlash. Though it was only a single exchange, she had already suffered considerable internal injuries.
But with Xiao Yaohou's profound power exhausted, among all of them, only she had any chance of stopping Xuanyuan Wentian.
Xiao Yaohou had burned her Golden Crow Source Blood for their sake—how could she allow herself to fall like this?
Feng Xue'er steadied herself firmly, the Phoenix Flame on her body reigniting simultaneously. The overly dazzling glow made Xuanyuan Wentian, still panting, suddenly look up. Breathing heavily, he roared in fury, "You... an unformed little phoenix... worthy of crossing blades with me!"
"Dark... Prison!"
The light suddenly dimmed. Countless black rays appeared from the void. Before anyone could react, they were enveloped by the cold, dark radiance.
The Phoenix Flame that Feng Xue'er had just ignited was extinguished almost instantly. The black radiance shrouding her pressed down like an irresistible hand, locking her profound power and binding her entire body. Even when she exerted all her strength, she could not break free by even a single inch.
She could neither launch an attack nor move a step or raise an arm. Every part of her body felt as if nailed into an inescapable cage of despair.
Even Feng Xue'er, who possessed the strongest profound power, was like this. The others had even less hope of breaking free—they had no strength to struggle at all.
"Ha... ah..." After releasing the Dark Prison, Xuanyuan Wentian's body went limp, and he collapsed to one knee with a stumble. It took him a while to slowly stand, leaning on his demonic sword, a fierce laugh escaping his mouth. "Ha... hahahaha... I am now a Demon God! Mere mortals like you... how could you possibly... escape from my grasp... hahahahaha..."
:。: