Chapter 875: A Fate Worse Than Death
As soon as Yun Che landed with Su Hengshan, they were immediately surrounded by a large crowd.
Without a doubt, those surrounding them were all disciples of the Tai Su Sect. They saw Su Hengshan, covered in blood and with disheveled hair, and although some faces occasionally showed signs of complexity or twitching, their steps in encircling them were without the slightest hesitation, and row after row of gleaming weapons were aimed at them.
"Still trying to run... where do you think you're going!"
A fierce, aggressive voice came from the direction of the collapsed underground prison. Hearing that voice, the name "Su Haoran" flashed through Yun Che's mind.
Su Hengshan's only son, and Su Linger's half-brother... a person whom Yun Che had detested greatly six years ago in the "illusion realm."
The crowd parted, and the twenty-six people Yun Che had sensed earlier walked over unhurriedly.
At the very front was a black-clad middle-aged man, his face thin with a hint of pallor. The most conspicuous thing about him was the seven stars imprinted on his black chest garment. The stars were a deep green, signifying his rather high status within the Seven Star Divine Mansion. As he walked, he exuded an air of superiority that radiated from his entire being, as if on this land, he was a king looking down on everything, and all others were mere ants.
The aura of his profound force was as strong as the eighth level of the Overlord Xuan Realm.
Behind him were two other middle-aged men, also in black robes with light green stars imprinted on their chests. They were the other two Overlords Yun Che had sensed... but they were only early-stage Overlords.
Further back, some familiar faces appeared.
The one who had just howled—Su Haoran!
Su Hengyue, who had once allied with Heimu Fort to force Su Hengshan to hand over the supreme treasure key!
Su Wangji—the highest-ranking Supreme Elder of the Tai Su Sect!
And even Heimu Qingya, the Fort Master of Heimu Fort, who had once been scared out of his wits by Xia Qingyue, was present!
Moreover, from the positioning of these people, it seemed as if Su Haoran was at their head.
These people looked like a pack of fawning dogs walking behind the three Overlords of the Seven Star Divine Mansion, their bodies slightly hunched, their postures extremely respectful, as if merely walking alongside them was a matter of utmost fear.
When they saw Yun Che, they were also stunned for a moment. Then Su Haoran was the first to recognize him and exclaimed in shock, "It's... it's you!!"
The black-clad man at the front had been coldly sizing up Yun Che. Hearing Su Haoran's cry, he said indifferently, "It seems you know this person?"
"Ah... yes," Su Haoran quickly bent his waist even further at the black-clad man's question: "We met a few years ago, but he's just a small fry, not worth mentioning, not worth the Divine Envoy's attention."
"A small fry?" The man addressed as "Divine Envoy" snorted coldly: "A young sixth-level Overlord would be a small fry?"
At these words, both the people of the Tai Su Sect and the Seven Star Divine Mansion were stunned on the spot. Those who had seen Yun Che six years ago were especially dumbfounded. Even Su Hengshan, who was behind Yun Che, was greatly startled.
Su Haoran's eyes bulged, and he stammered, "S-sixth... sixth-level Over... Overlord!? Th-this is impossible! Six years ago... he was only at the Spirit Xuan Realm... how could he..."
"What? Are you saying that my perception is inferior to yours!" The black-clad Divine Envoy's voice suddenly turned cold.
Su Haoran trembled all over and said in terror, "N-no, no, I spoke out of turn. Even if I had ten thousand guts, I wouldn't dare doubt the Divine Envoy. Please forgive me, Divine Envoy."
Watching his son grovel like a fawning dog, Su Hengshan remained expressionless, with almost no pain visible on his face... because he had long been pained and grieved to the point of numbness.
"Young man, it seems you are no more than thirty years old, yet you already possess such cultivation," the black-clad Divine Envoy said lightly. "With talent like this, even in my Seven Star Divine Mansion, you would be top-tier. You shouldn't be an unknown. But judging by your appearance, it's impossible that you come from the Zhe Tian Sect or the Feixian Sword Sect. What is your name, which sect are you from, and who is your master?" His face suddenly darkened: "And who gave you the audacity to provoke my Seven Star Divine Mansion!"
A sixth-level Overlord under the age of thirty—the black-clad Divine Envoy was not afraid, but he could not help but be shocked. So he did not act immediately but sought to glean Yun Che's background. However, no matter what his background was, they would not be afraid... because they were the Seven Star Divine Mansion!
Even if this person really came from the Zhe Tian Sect or the Feixian Sword Sect, they would at most be equals.
Under the effect of the heaven-and-earth aura emanating from Yun Che, Su Hengshan had already recovered a great deal of vitality. He struggled forward, forcefully pushed Yun Che away, and roared, "Old villain, this young man just mistook me for someone else! I don't know him at all! If you have the guts, kill him right now!"
He then turned sharply to Yun Che and shouted even louder, "Look carefully! My name is Su Hengshan, not Ling Datong! This is the Tai Su Sect, not the Er Xuan Sect you're looking for! The matters of my Tai Su Sect—whether I live or die—are none of a clueless outsider's business! Now get the hell out! Get out!"
Yun Che: "..."
He understood Su Hengshan's meaning. He was telling him that the people in front were not someone he could handle, and that he should extricate himself immediately and then go find Linger.
Looking at the current situation—the groveling Su Haoran and the others, the corpses in Tai Su Sect attire in the bamboo grove—putting it all together, Yun Che had a fairly clear idea of what had happened in the Tai Su Sect. He suppressed the urge to slaughter everyone on the spot, took one step forward, and said in an extremely calm voice, "Have you found any traces of Su Linger's appearance? If so, speak up, and I'll let you die a little less painfully."
Su Hengshan was stunned, and his extended hand drooped weakly. The black-clad Divine Envoy's eyes narrowed sharply, while a loud burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings. Especially the disciples of the Seven Star Divine Mansion, who were almost doubled over with laughter. Their gazes at Yun Che shifted from earlier caution to extreme mockery... even pity.
"Heh," the black-clad Divine Envoy gave a faint, cold laugh and said unhurriedly, "It seems that although your talent is decent, your brain isn't too sharp... no, it's just plain stupid."
Su Haoran was full of schadenfreude and roared arrogantly, "Yun Che! I never thought that after six years, you'd come here looking for death! Do you know who the great man standing before you is! He is the dignified Divine Mansion Envoy of the Seven Star Divine Mansion! If you kneel down and kowtow to apologize right now, it's not too late! The Divine Envoy is magnanimous, and might even grant you a whole corpse!"
Yun Che didn't even glance at Su Haoran. His eyes slowly narrowed: "I'll say it one more time. Tell me news about Su Linger, and I'll let you die a little less painfully."
"Heh," the black-clad Divine Envoy let out a low laugh: "It seems you're really asking for death!"
Yun Che did not move his body, only his finger lightly pointed toward the Seven Star Divine Mansion disciple on the right side of the black-clad Divine Envoy.
Boom!!
"Ahhh!!!"
A slight exploding sound immediately brought a miserable cry of extreme pain. That Seven Star Divine Mansion disciple fell to the ground, his chest blasted open, and violent Golden Crow Flame ignited from within his chest cavity, spreading to burn his entire body.
"Wuuuaaaaaaaahhhh..."
The burning of Golden Crow Flame was unbearable even for an Emperor Lord, let alone an early-stage Overlord... and especially since this Golden Crow Flame was burning from inside his body! He screamed desperately, rolled frantically, and tried to resist with his profound force, but how could Yun Che's Golden Crow Flame be affected by his power!
This sudden, terrifying scene shocked everyone. The black-clad Divine Envoy's face also changed drastically. The Seven Star Divine Mansion disciple to his left hurriedly rushed forward to try to extinguish the "profound fire" on his companion, but the moment his hand touched the flame, he let out a scream, and both his palms were reduced to white bones... Then the bones were also burned away. The demonic flame slowly advanced along his hands, causing him to collapse to the ground in extreme pain and fear, writhing and screaming like the first disciple.
The Golden Crow Flame burned exceptionally slowly, unhurriedly devouring their bodies. This process was accompanied by suffering even more brutal than the hell they imagined. The two Seven Star Divine Mansion disciples screamed with a misery that sounded like the wailing of evil ghosts from the underworld. Their bodies writhed and convulsed wildly, their eyes bulging almost out of their sockets in agony, and the veins on their foreheads stood out clearly like earthworms!
"Kill me... kill me... I beg you... kill me... aaaaah!!!"
The desperate sounds they made with all their strength... was a longing for death.
Boom!!
With a shift in Yun Che's gaze, the world's most ferocious flame suddenly exploded. In an instant, the bodies of the two Seven Star Divine Mansion disciples split apart like torn rags, scattering into countless flaming fragments. Before these fragments even hit the ground, they were burned to nothing... not even a wisp of scorched smoke remained. The falling sparks instantly charred the ground full of holes like foam.
Everyone was completely speechless. Their eyes were wide open, their faces pale as paper, and the sudden surge of shock and terror nearly made their eyeballs burst.
Su Haoran had lost all color in his face. He staggered backward, stuttering, "De... demonic arts... it's demonic arts!!"
The black-clad Divine Envoy's face was completely twisted. All traces of calm and arrogance were gone. The pallor on his face revealed the rapidly expanding fear in his heart. He stepped back and suddenly shouted, "Everyone, attack... kill him!"
His command sent the startled Seven Star Divine Mansion disciples into a conditioned reflex—they all charged at Yun Che simultaneously.
Yun Che's face was icy. He didn't even glance at the surroundings. The flame light on his hand turned into blue light and flashed abruptly.
Instantly, a dozen Ice God giant trees rose up, enveloping all the charging Seven Star Divine Mansion disciples. Countless ice-cold branches stretched out, mercilessly piercing and impaling their bodies... But under the chill, their blood had no time to flow before it froze, and even the loss of life became extremely slow under the cold.
In a short, mere instant, all the Seven Star Divine Mansion disciples were buried within the Ice God trees. Each of them was pierced by at least dozens of ice branches, like locusts skewered by poisonous thorns. But they did not bleed, they did not struggle, and they could not even die immediately. Only desperate, miserable screams came from their mouths.
These despairing cries overlapped, like a funeral dirge from the Avici Hell!