Chapter 931: The First Step Toward the God Realm
Feng Xian'er arrived at the end of a valley and finally stopped. She spread her arms, closed her eyes, and indulged in the gentle mountain breeze: "The air outside is so comfortable. If I weren't afraid of Father and Mother's punishment, I'd love to sleep out here for a long, long time."
Although Feng Zu'er's profound strength was two minor realms higher than Feng Xian'er's, his speed was noticeably inferior. He caught up behind Feng Xian'er and panted, "Xian'er, we've... we've already run this far out. It's too dangerous. What if... what if a large group of profound beasts charges at us?"
"I'm not afraid. I've sneaked out so many times, and I've never encountered a profound beast I couldn't beat. Even if I really can't beat one, I'm faster than you now, Big Brother. They won't be able to catch me."
Feng Xian'er smiled charmingly, her beautiful eyes sparkling with starlight: "I really want to see the outside world. I really want to see Brother Benefactor again. I wonder how he's doing now. Maybe he and Sister Xueruo are already married and have many children."
Feng Zu'er tugged at Feng Xian'er's sleeve, his gaze constantly alert to their surroundings, and said anxiously, "Father and Mother said we must reach the Heavenly Xuan Realm before we can go to the outside world. Even if you want to play outside, let's first go back near the barrier, so if danger arises, we can immediately hide inside the barrier."
"Big Brother is such a coward," Feng Xian'er pouted slightly in defiance. "If Brother Benefactor finds out, he'll definitely laugh at you."
"This isn't a matter of cowardice or not." Feng Zu'er grew more and more anxious. Because this place was a good several miles away from the barrier. If danger really did strike, they wouldn't have time to flee back to the barrier.
"That Brother Benefactor they speak of—is it Brother Yun?" Feng Xue'er smiled. "It seems they haven't forgotten Brother Yun at all; they've kept him firmly in their hearts."
"From birth, they've carried the bloodline curse and undeserved guilt, living cautiously. And since they've never left this place, they haven't been tainted by worldly filth. Everyone here is kind and pure at heart. The day they emerge into the world, a strong and righteous sect will surely rise in the Cang Feng Empire."
A smile appeared on Yun Che's face, filled with deep anticipation for their future, and he felt even more that now was not the time to visit them. "Xue'er, let's go."
"Wait!" Yun Che suddenly turned back and muttered, "Not good."
"ROAR!!"
From ahead in the valley, a violent beast roar suddenly rang out. It was extremely close, accompanied by the sound of rapid approaching footsteps.
"That sound..." Feng Zu'er's expression changed. "Damn it! Xian'er, run!"
In contrast, upon hearing the beast roar, Feng Xian'er showed no fear; instead, she grew somewhat excited. "Big Brother, don't make such a fuss. It's perfectly normal to encounter profound beasts here. Alright, let these profound beasts taste my power!"
"But what if that profound beast is very strong... AHHHH!"
Amid Feng Zu'er's screams, a giant wolf appeared in their line of sight. Even when standing on all fours, the wolf was a full zhang tall. Its fur was a hoary gray, its eyes were as if stained with blood, and its entire body radiated a violent, murderous aura and a pressure that made their bodies tense up.
The sudden pressure finally made Feng Xian'er's face lose color. Although she had little combat experience, she at least knew that being subjected to such oppressive pressure meant the profound beast before her was not something she could handle. Panicking, her half-formed attack froze entirely, and she stood motionless, as if scared stiff.
"Xian'er, get out of the way!!"
Feng Zu'er roared, charging forward and shoving Feng Xian'er aside. He crossed his hands, and crimson Phoenix Flame ignited all over his body. A tongue of fire blasted toward the charging gray wolf.
"Take my Meteor Fire!"
Feng Zu'er carried the Phoenix bloodline, so the flame he burned was naturally Phoenix Flame. However, the power of the flame he released was nothing compared to the Phoenix Flame in its fully activated state.
Seeing the flame, the gray wolf's eyes became even more ferocious. Its wolf claws lashed forward fiercely, and a whirlwind stirred up sand and dust, sweeping toward Feng Zu'er.
Boom!
Feng Zu'er's flame was swiftly torn apart by the whirlwind. The still-potent wind struck him directly, sending him flying backward. His back slammed heavily into a rock formation, and painful groans escaped his lips.
"Big Brother!" The terrified Feng Xian'er cried out and rushed forward recklessly. Feng Zu'er was wracked with pain all over when he suddenly saw Feng Xian'er charging. He shouted in alarm, "Don't come over!!"
But almost as he shouted, the gray wolf abruptly changed targets and pounced on Feng Xian'er, who was closer.
"Xian'er!!" Feng Zu'er was horrified. Ignoring the severe pain throughout his body, he rushed toward the gray wolf at top speed, at the same time hurling a thick pillar of Phoenix Flame at its back.
This Phoenix Flame was flung out in panic and urgency, its power less than half of his first attack. However, just as the Phoenix Flame struck the gray wolf's body, the wolf let out a miserable howl. Its charging body suddenly stiffened, then crashed to the ground. After a few convulsions, it was completely still.
Feng Zu'er stopped, stared at his hands, and froze in place for a moment. Then, the pain all over him hit hard. His legs gave way, and he plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Big Brother!" Feng Xian'er, still shaken, rushed over. Tears dotted her face, and she sobbed, "Are you okay? Are you hurt... Wuwu, it's all my fault, all my fault for being so willful, wuwu..."
"I'm fine, don't worry... Hiss." He said he was fine, but he winced in pain. The clothes on his chest were torn in a large area, revealing over a dozen wounds cut by wind blades, bleeding profusely, but fortunately none reached the bone.
"You... you say you're fine, but you're bleeding so much, wuwuwu..." Feng Xian'er's eyes glistened with tears, and she cried again in self-reproach.
"I'm really fine. These little injuries don't hurt at all." Feng Zu'er clenched his teeth, forcibly put on a nonchalant expression, and stood up. "But Xian'er, you can't... sneak out of the barrier anymore from now on."
"Mn!" Feng Xian'er nodded hastily, her eyes brimming with tears. "I... I won't dare anymore. I was too willful before... Does it really not hurt?"
"Hmph! I'm going to be a man as great as Brother Benefactor. These little injuries mean nothing." Feng Zu'er even puffed out his chest with effort. "Alright, let's go back quickly."
"Mn!" This time, Feng Xian'er followed obediently behind Feng Zu'er, who had been injured for her sake.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Father and Mother about today. As for my injuries... I'll say I accidentally hit a rock while training."
"Thank you, Big Brother." Feng Xian'er sniffled, then looked at him with admiration. "But I didn't expect Big Brother to be this strong already. You took down such a huge profound beast in one shot."
"Uh..." Feng Zu'er looked at his own palm, then scratched his head, looking rather puzzled. "I didn't expect it either. That profound beast's aura was at least Earth Xuan Realm Level 5 or above. Maybe... my fire just happened to hit its vital point... That must be it."
"These siblings have such a close bond." Feng Xue'er withdrew her small hand.
"It seems we didn't come here for nothing today. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable." Yun Che shook his head with a smile. Watching the two siblings quickly return to the vicinity of the barrier, he stretched out both hands. Two shards of soul power flew straight down from his left hand, easily infiltrating the minds of Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er. With his right hand, he silently pushed a jade box containing thirty Overlord Pills to the edge of the barrier before them.
"Let's go." Giving Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er one last look, Yun Che took Feng Xue'er's hand and flew far away, vanishing into the horizon in an instant.
Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er stopped in their tracks. Their eyes simultaneously glazed over, then cleared again. They stared at each other, both looking dazed.
"Xian'er, I... it seems like something suddenly appeared in my mind." Feng Zu'er said blankly, his face full of shock and disbelief.
"Same here." Feng Xian'er looked bewildered, whispering, "Phoenix... Ode... Scripture..."
"Ah... we... hurry and tell Father and Mother!" Feng Zu'er, as if waking from a dream, said urgently.
"Ah... okay!" Feng Xian'er nodded quickly.
Their pace quickened. As they approached the barrier, Feng Zu'er tripped hard over the jade box Yun Che had left behind.
"Ah? What's this?" Feng Xian'er picked up the jade box, which she had never seen before. "Such a pretty box... but there wasn't anything like this here before."
"Let's take it to Father and Mother to see... Hurry, let's go. This will definitely cause a stir throughout the entire clan." Feng Zu'er said with great urgency.
The Phoenix Ode Scripture was something the Phoenix survivors had dreamed of but never dared to hope for. Because the only Phoenix souls here contained only the fifth and sixth layers of the Phoenix Ode Scripture, they couldn't disregard the laws like Yun Che and forcefully train in it. Even with the Phoenix bloodline, they could only practice ordinary fire-type profound arts.
Now, the complete first six layers of the Phoenix Ode Scripture had simultaneously appeared in the minds of Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er... This Phoenix survivor clan, which had just been freed from its curse, would from this day onward truly embrace a new life.
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After leaving the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range, Yun Che and Feng Xue'er arrived at the Ice Extreme Snow Domain.
The new Bing Yun Fairy Palace had taken shape. All of their ancestors' remains had been found, completely intact as they had hoped—no small consolation for the Bing Yun Fairy Palace.
At the edge of the Ice Extreme Snow Domain, Yun Che and Feng Xue'er hovered facing each other. He took a deep breath, closed all the Evil God Realm Gates, and his profound energy aura dropped drastically. He summoned the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword. Though he gripped it firmly, both arms felt extremely heavy, and even lifting it slightly was difficult.
The main reason he could unleash power far beyond his own profound strength level was the Evil God Art. From the Evil Soul to Heart Incineration, then to Purgatory and Heaven-Shattering—the more Evil God Realm Gates he opened, the more his power underwent not just quantitative change but an ever greater qualitative transformation. With his current physique and cultivation, he could already use Heart Incineration as his standard state without any pressure, and it was no longer far off before he could make Purgatory his standard.
Now, with both Heart Incineration and Evil Soul closed, completely forgoing the Evil God Art, his profound strength was purely at Lord Xuan Realm, Level 1... The first step of his training was to use this initial state to forcibly engage Feng Xue'er in combat.
"Xue'er, temporarily use thirty percent of your power and see if I can withstand it." Yun Che raised the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword, his brows furrowed.
His goal was to reach a level within three years where his baseline state could match Feng Xue'er's—but Feng Xue'er as she was today, because three years from now, her strength would surely have grown tremendously.
"Alright, Brother Yun, be careful."
Feng Xue'er lightly waved her hands. Over a dozen fire phoenixes circled around her body, chirping, then blasted toward Yun Che simultaneously.
"Hah!"
Yun Che swung his sword. The sky above the Ice Extreme Snow Domain exploded with flames; phoenix cries shook the heavens. Amid the collapse of space, Yun Che was sent tumbling backward, but he immediately forced himself back, his sword momentum not weakening but instead growing even more ferocious... It was indeed too much for him in his baseline state, with not a trace of the Evil God Art, to withstand thirty percent of Feng Xue'er's power. But what he wanted was precisely this kind of training that would push his limits.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
The phoenix cries and sword might turned the surrounding hundred miles of space into a zone of disaster. But thanks to the barrier Feng Xue'er had set up, the devastation did not spread beyond the Ice Extreme Snow Domain.
From this day onward, Yun Che formally began to take his first step toward the God Realm.
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