Chapter 892: New and Old Accounts
Mu Yingchan felt as if a bucket of ice water had suddenly been poured over his head, his entire body stiffening sharply.
This voice seemed to come from the shattered void itself, close to his ears, yet as the Chief Sovereign of the Flying Immortal Sword Sect and one of the three strongest figures on the Cang Yun Continent, he had not sensed the presence of the voice's owner at all beforehand.
Even more terrifying was that although the voice was very soft, it contained a bone-chilling coldness and killing intent that pierced straight into the soul, causing every hair on his body to stand on end almost instantly.
In his entire life, he had never experienced such a feeling.
"Who!" Mu Yingchan let out a low growl, turning around like lightning, then instinctively looking upward. Everyone's stunned gazes also focused simultaneously on the area diagonally above Mu Yingchan.
They saw a young man dressed entirely in white floating in the air, holding in his arms a girl in green attire who looked no more than sixteen. The girl possessed a beauty that could topple nations and cities, nestling tightly against the young man's body. Her eyes held three parts fear, but seven parts peace.
Their position was barely thirty feet high, yet no one present knew when they had appeared there.
Two faces—far too young and completely unfamiliar. The girl's profound energy aura was only at the Spirit Xuan Realm, Level 3, while the young man was at the early stages of the Lord Xuan Realm.
The three sect masters were all slightly startled... There were very few Emperor Lords on the Cang Yun Continent, and they knew each one of them by reputation. For someone so young to have reached the Emperor Lord Realm was absolutely an unprecedented miracle, yet they had never seen him before.
"Who are you?" Mu Yingchan narrowed his eyes. "Was it you who spoke to me just now?"
"Sect Master, he's just a reckless brat who doesn't know his place. Should we drive him away, or..." a person behind Zuo Hanshuo said disdainfully.
"A brat?" Zuo Hanshuo let out a low laugh instead. "Judging by the aura of his lifespan, he should be no more than thirty years old, yet his profound energy has already reached the early Lord Xuan Realm. This kid definitely has a significant background."
"Oh?" Zuo Hanshuo's words shocked everyone except the three sect masters, but only briefly. Immediately, that person continued, "No wonder he's so arrogant—he does have the capital for it. Unfortunately, he's picked completely the wrong target today."
"Young man, you called my hand dirty. That's quite a novelty." Mu Yingchan's expression was amused as he shook his palm. "I've lived for seventeen hundred years, and this is the first time I've heard someone describe me with the word 'dirty.' Would you like to try saying that again?"
Yun Che did not speak, nor did his expression change. His gaze, along with Su Linger's, was fixed on Yun Gu, and he barely even registered what Mu Yingchan was saying.
With a flicker of his form, Yun Che had already flashed past Mu Yingchan's side, carrying Su Linger, and arrived beside Yun Gu. Mu Yingchan did not try to stop him; he turned around leisurely, clearly very interested in Yun Che's identity. Naturally, he also misinterpreted Yun Che's rush to Yun Gu's side, sneering coldly, "So you've come for the Heavenly Poison Pearl as well, it seems."
Master...
Looking at Yun Gu, who was right before him, Yun Che cried out deeply in his heart. The complete transformation of his personality and the greatest madness of his two lifetimes had all been for the sake of this old man. His kindness in raising him and nurturing him was higher than the heavens and deeper than the oceans. Yun Che had thought they would be separated forever by life and death, never to meet again. He had never imagined there would be a day of reunion.
He hadn't changed a bit. His aura was still gentle as the wind, his entire body carrying a rich, fragrant scent of herbs. His eyes, too, held a vastness that could encompass the world.
In this world, there are many who are called great, many who are called sages. But in Yun Che's eyes, if there was only one sage in the world, it would definitely be Yun Gu, who was both his teacher and his father.
Yun Gu was also looking at Yun Che. His eyes were clear one moment and hazy the next, as if he were struggling with an uncontrollable excitement. But there was not a trace of greed in them... at least, he was definitely not here for the Heavenly Poison Pearl either.
He was certain he had never seen this person before, yet in a daze, he felt a strange, distant sense of familiarity.
"Young friend, I don't know why you've come for this old man, but you're surely not here to seize the Heavenly Poison Pearl from me. Perhaps you've just mistaken me for someone else. This place is far more dangerous than you imagine. You should leave quickly," Yun Gu advised.
"..." Yun Che calmed his surging emotions, squeezed Su Linger's little hand, and said in a low voice, "Linger, go back to the Mysterious Ark with Master first... I'll forcibly send him up."
Su Linger tightened her grip on his hand, looked at him for a long moment, and finally nodded gently. "Brother Yun Che, you must be careful."
A ripple of spatial fluctuation stirred beside Yun Che. Before the surrounding crowd could react, Su Linger and Yun Gu had both vanished from that spot.
Mu Yingchan, Duan Heisha, and Zuo Hanshuo were stunned at first, then their expressions changed drastically. The three of them charged almost simultaneously to the spot where Yun Gu had been, but Yun Gu's figure and aura had vanished without a trace, not even a shred left behind.
"A... Spatial Escape!" Zuo Hanshuo roared in a low voice, whirling around angrily to stare at Yun Che, locking his energy firmly onto him. "He's hiding some kind of spatial profound artifact!"
"We've been tricked by this brat." Mu Yingchan's face also darkened completely. Three overlord sects, three sect masters, all present—an absolutely indomitable force on the Cang Yun Continent, and yet they had let their prey slip away right before their eyes.
"Heh heh. It seems Sect Leader Zuo and Sect Master Mu haven't made much progress over the years. Just a small, unexpected incident, and you've so easily lost your composure."
Duan Heisha, however, remained calm and composed. He stared at Yun Che, smiling meaningfully. "No matter how far Yun Gu runs, where can he possibly go? Don't you think another great gift has delivered itself to our doorstep?"
"Oh? What does Lord Duan mean?" Mu Yingchan and Zuo Hanshuo sharpened their gazes, then immediately caught on.
"Heh," Duan Heisha walked slowly towards Yun Che. "Kid, I have to admire your courage. Of course, you're only this bold because you don't know who we are. Before I tell you myself, you have one last chance... I'm very interested in that spatial profound artifact you just used. If you obediently hand it over, I might let bygones be bygones regarding what you've done. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Yun Che curled his lips and sneered coldly. "Duan Heisha, I heard that a few days ago, Seven Star Divine Palace sent an elder and a group of disciples to snatch a Coiling Dragon Whisker, cruelly slaughtering an innocent sect in the Fusu Kingdom. In the end, they all got their comeuppance and died miserably... I wonder, has your Seven Star Divine Palace found the one who sent them to hell?"
Duan Heisha's face gradually stiffened. An elder behind him had already roared out, "So it was you who killed the Nineteenth Elder and the others!"
"Outrageous." Duan Heisha laughed in anger instead. He had assumed that Yun Che was only acting so boldly in front of them because he had no idea who they were—otherwise, he would have been scared out of his wits long ago.
But now, he had called out Duan Heisha's name and the identity of Seven Star Divine Palace behind him.
With a contemptuous tone, he had even voluntarily admitted that he was the one who had massacred dozens of Seven Star Divine Palace disciples and an elder ten days ago!
If before they had merely thought him ignorant and reckless, now... not only was he aware of their identity, but he was clearly arrogantly despising and provoking his Seven Star Divine Palace!
"Sect Leader Zuo, Sect Master Mu... Seven Star Divine Palace will take this kid. Any objections?" Duan Heisha's face was slightly green, clearly enraged.
"Taking him is fine, but ensure he stays alive." Zuo Hanshuo said with some schadenfreude. "Once we've dealt with Heavenly Poison Pearl and the spatial artifact, you can do whatever you want with him."
"Forget it, leave it to Lord Duan. I'll just pretend I forgot about this kid calling my hand dirty earlier." Mu Yingchan waved dismissively, but his venomous gaze remained locked on Yun Che.
Seeing the other two masters agree, an elder from behind Duan Heisha stepped forward, his manner aggressive. "Lord Duan, let me teach this arrogant brat a lesson! Just a measly Lord Xuan, Level 1, and he thinks he's invincible? He actually dares to kill people from Seven Star Divine Palace."
"Spare his life, but first break his arms and legs!" Duan Heisha said in a sinister voice. As the Lord of Seven Star Mansion, he naturally wouldn't deign to act personally.
"Yes!"
The Divine Palace elder stepped forward and lunged at Yun Che, releasing a majestic Emperor Lord aura that stirred up fierce winds for dozens of miles around.
"Kid, kneel before your grandfather first!" With a roar, his outstretched hand was less than three feet from Yun Che's head.
Yun Che did not move. His gaze was level, his expression indifferent, not a trace of agitation on his face. Only a faint murmur echoed in his heart: *Old accounts from the past, new accounts from today—let them all be settled now!*
*RIIIP!*
The Divine Palace elder's hand clamped onto Yun Che's head. The moment his profound energy burst outward, he suddenly realized that his hand was grasping nothing but empty air. The profound energy he had released only tore a long black rift in the space.
Wh... What!?
Where... Where is he!?
The Divine Palace elder's heart jolted in shock. He could scarcely believe his eyes. Before he could recover from his astonishment, a sound of extreme dullness came from behind him.
*BOOM——————*
The sound was neither loud nor intense, but it was so dull that it made everyone's eardrums—and even their entire bodies—feel extremely uncomfortable, as if something had suddenly struck their hearts.
The vanished Yun Che materialized like a ghost before the Seven Star Mansion Lord, Duan Heisha. The elbow of his right arm was rammed into the center of Duan Heisha's chest... in that instant, Duan Heisha's face was still dark and grim; he hadn't even had time to register shock.
That dull sound was the noise of Yun Che's elbow colliding with Duan Heisha's heart.
When everyone's gazes, filled with disbelief, finally relocated Yun Che, he was casually withdrawing his elbow from Duan Heisha's chest.
Duan Heisha's body did not move. The area that had been struck did not even cave or deform. Even his expression did not change in the slightest.
Yun Che's speed made them feel they had seen a ghost. But looking at Duan Heisha, who had clearly been struck without suffering a scratch, the surrounding Divine Palace elders and disciples were about to burst out laughing at Yun Che's reckless overestimation of his abilities... But their laughter had yet to leave their throats when they suddenly saw Duan Heisha's complexion turn deathly pale at an astonishing speed, then rapidly shift from pale to a dark purple... Then, like a pole blown down by a fierce wind, he toppled straight backward.
*THUD!*
Duan Heisha crashed to the ground, his eyes wide open, unblinking. A torrent of white foam mixed with frothy blood gushed from his mouth and nose.
"Lord... Lord Mansion Lord!"
This scene shocked the Divine Palace disciples, shocked everyone present, nearly to the point of their souls fleeing their bodies. The Divine Palace elders scrambled forward, but before they could get close, Duan Heisha's body suddenly trembled.
*WHOOSH!*
Duan Heisha's profound veins and dantian were like a punctured balloon. The profound energy he had cultivated for a lifetime poured out in countless wild currents, gushing from every part of his body... until it was completely spent.