Against the Gods - Volume 08 - Cloud's End Mirage

by Mars Gravity

  “Hmph, even if I add all of you together, you are still not qualified!” Xuanyuan Wentian said as he raised his hand. The air in front of him was immediately displaced as the flames that were blocking his path were completely dissipated.

  “Phoenix Fire Burning Heaven!”

  Feng Zukui and his son advanced simultaneously from both sides as two curtains of fire spread out as they shot towards the sky. The sky above Phoenix City was instantly transformed into a sea of roiling fire.

  Xuanyuan Wentian’s brows sank and before anyone noticed him move, his body flashed with light as a huge sword shadow surrounded his entire body. After that, it cut towards the Phoenix fire curtain that covered the sky as he moved.

  Boom boom booom…

  Xuanyuan Wentian had been utterly pathetic in front of Jasmine but he was undoubtedly the number one practitioner of the sword in the entire Profound Sky Continent! He did not even need to hold a sword in his hand because the moment his sword intent exploded, Feng Zukui and Feng Tianwei could clearly feel millions of coldly gleaming divine swords suddenly coalesce in the air around them. The swords pierced the air as the cold tips of the blades pressed against their backs.

  The unblemished fire curtain was slashed into wildly flying fire fragments in the space of a few breaths. Feng Zukui could still barely hold on but the profound energy around Feng Tianwei had already been completely messed up by the invisible sword energy that smashed against it.

  Feng Zukui calmed his heart as he gave a loud roar. A cluster of Phoenix flames that was gathered using the extreme limits of his power gathered in the air in front of him before forming into an incredibly scorching flaming sun which tore towards Xuanyuan Wentian, who was contained within his own sword shadow.

  Xuanyuan Wentian glanced sharply to the side before the sword shadow surrounding him suddenly shot out from his body as it easily shot through the Phoenix flames which Feng Zukui had gathered with all of his might before piercing Feng Zukui’s chest.

  Splurt!!

  Blood sprayed wildly from Feng Zukui’s chest as he tumbled backwards. Xuanyuan Wentian gave a cold smile but he did not perform a follow-up attack. Instead, he boosted his speed to the maximum as he rushed towards the north.

  “Father… Xuanyuan Wentian!!”

  Feng Tianwei shot a glance towards Feng Zukui before looking at the swiftly departing Xuanyuan Wentian. After an instant of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and resolved to continue chasing after Xuanyuan Wentian.

  “There’s no need to give chase.”

  Feng Zukui had just barely managed to stop his tumble before he told Feng Tianwei to stop. He pressed a hand against his chest, healing his injury as he spoke, “Given your speed, there is no way you will catch up to him. Even if you do manage to catch him, it will be meaningless. Stalling him this long was already our limit.”

  Feng Tianwei’s brows narrowed before he gave a heavy sigh.

  “The rest is up to Xue’er’s good fortune,” Feng Zukui said as he closed his eyes and gave a similar sigh.

  The moment Xuanyuan Wentian had appeared in front of them, Feng Zukui had already experienced a sense of foreboding, so he used the Phoenix Stone to stealthily transmit a message to Feng Xue’er, telling her to immediately flee as fast and as far away as she possibly could.

  In the end, his premonition came true… No, given the current circumstances, it was one hundred times more severe than anything he had anticipated.

  “Wasn’t that strange? How did Xuanyuan Wentian figure out our intentions?” Feng Tianwei asked with furrowed brows. “Furthermore, Xue’er already left long ago, so he shouldn’t be able to detect any aura, even we do not know where she is right now. Yet Xuanyuan Wentian confidently raced north, as if he was very certain of her location…”

  Feng Tianwei’s words caused Feng Zukui to be taken aback for a moment. He swiftly scanned his surroundings before descending from the sky and standing in front of the entrance of the Phoenix Fire Mythical Realm. After a while, his expression violently changed and he gasped involuntarily, “There is a blood scent! This blood scent…”

  “Could it be that… when Xue’er left, she also brought Yun Che’s body along with her!?”

  “Wha… What!?” Feng Tianwei exclaimed in shock. He swiftly stretched his spiritual perception to the max before detecting the faint aura of blood that had yet to dissipate.

  This aura instantly brought to mind the blood-covered Yun Che!

  “Crap!” Feng Tianwei’s face immediately went pale as his whole body shook. He slammed a fist against the ground before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Why was Xue’er… so silly!? It would be exceedingly difficult for her to escape from Xuanyuan Wentian’s grasp if she was by herself but why did she bring Yun Che along as well? Even if she has deep feelings towards Yun Che… he is already dead!”

  “Given Xuanyuan Wentian’s level of cultivation, following the trail of Yun Che’s blood is as easy as flipping a hand… Xue’er undoubtedly understood this as well but yet she… Ah!”

  Feng Zukui’s hand slapped against his forehead and he looked completely forlorn and miserable.

  “Now that it has come to this, we can truly only rely on good fortune now,” Feng Zukui said with a sigh. “I only hope that the ancestral Phoenix God is watching over us right now and that he will be able to protect Xue’er and help her escape this calamity… If that is the case, even if my old bones return to the dirt, I will be able to go with no regrets.”

  Feng Tianwei’s Phoenix Stone buzzed with profound energy. He picked up the Phoenix Stone and heard a message that was transmitted from Feng Hengkong, “Royal Father, Grandfather, the northern city has just sent us this news. Just now three people who were exuding extraordinary auras just crossed over them and given the description… it is extremely likely that it is Huangji Wuyu, Qu Fengyi and Ye Meixie!”

  “!!” Feng Tianwei and Feng Zukui were stunned simultaneously. It was no surprise that they would return just as Xuanyuan Wentian did. But from the looks of it, it was clear that three of them had linked up and already discussed things between themselves before taking action.

  “I got it… Just try to think of a way to deflect their attentions and get them to leave. If we tell them that Yun Che is already dead, they probably won’t believe us. But if we say that he has already left, we can just leave it to them to try to track him down.”

  After Feng Tianwei’s distracted speech came to end, he raised his head to look towards the north… From the looks of it, Feng Xue’er had fled north after receiving their sound transmission, all the while carrying Yun Che’s body along with her.

  Xuanyuan Wentian had shot off towards the north and as expected, Feng Xue’er had indeed fled north.

  Her bright red phoenix robes were already drenched with fresh blood and scarlet Phoenix flames surrounded Yun Che’s body, forcefully preserving the very last embers of his life… This faint but extremely stubborn lifeforce of Yun Che’s had become the last hope that Feng Xue’er’s heart was clinging onto. She tightly hugged him and gritted her jade teeth as she refused to let the tears fall from her watery eyes.

  “Big Brother Yun, don’t die… You’ll be fine… you’ll definitely be alright…”

  “When you were taken away by the Primordial Profound Ark, you came back good as new… so this time, you will definitely get better as well…”

  She did not stop talking and calling out to Yun Che, in hopes that he could hear her.

  At this moment, if anyone took a single glance at Yun Che, they would not even need to check his aura to completely confirm that he was dead. Even if he still clung on to the very last shreds of life, he was definitely dangling on the edge of death and he would definitely expire before too much time had passed. There was definitely no possibility that he would make it out of this situation alive.

  After she had left Phoenix City and flown out of Divine Phoenix City, Feng Xue’er had gone north. Her heart was completely flustered and panicked and she did not know whe
re she ought to bring Yun Che to, but she unconsciously headed north… because that was the direction where Blue Wind Nation and Frozen Cloud Asgard lay.

  In her panicked fluster, she did not know how long she had been flying for. The scenery below had already changed into that of uncultivated lands. Even though she was born in the Divine Phoenix Empire and she was the only princess of the Divine Phoenix Empire, she had no knowledge of the lands that surrounded Divine Phoenix City, so she naturally did not know where she and Yun Che were headed currently.

  Moreover, a dangerous aura suddenly crept up from behind them at this moment, sending a chill coursing through her entire body, Following that, she sensed an immeasurably dangerous aura locking onto them from a very far distance.

  At this moment, Feng Xue’er’s mind cleared up because this aura was not one that was unfamiliar to her. This aura was incredibly strong and it also radiated a boundlessly sharp aura as well. She had felt this once at Supreme Ocean Palace’s Sea God Arena…

  Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master—Xuanyuan Wentian!!

  Chapter 834: The Power of the Devils

  Before Jasmine left, she deliberately chose not to deal with the people who posed the greatest threat to Yun Che… especially Xuanyuan Wentian and Ye Meixie, both of whom had extremely great enmity towards him. The most important reason behind her leaving them alive was her belief that Yun Che would definitely not fall into their hands, even though he was still not capable of facing them.

  She knew very well what kind of personality Yun Che had and she also knew all of the trump cards he held in his hands, so she was convinced of this point.

  Yun Che only needed to borrow the power of the Primordial Profound Ark to return to the Illusory Demon Realm first and avoid the Four Sacred Grounds. Given his innate talent, surpassing the Four Sacred Masters was only a matter of time. Furthermore, if he was not even able to wait for that short period of ten or so years, he could just practice dual cultivation with Feng Xue’er, borrowing the power of Feng Xue’er’s Phoenix vital yin, his power would explosively grow within a short period of time and it would grow so explosively that even Jasmine was not able to predict where it would end.

  At the same time, Feng Xue’er would also receive the benefits of his Dragon God bloodline, which would be an enormous boon in awakening her Phoenix Soul. At that time, if the two of them combined their powers and if the Little Demon Empress joined in as well, there would be nothing in either the Profound Sky Continent or Illusory Demon Realm that would be able to threaten them.

  So, she spared the Four Sacred Grounds, whom Yun Che could not currently go up against, leaving him to deal with them himself. Moreover, she was not the least bit worried about his situation at all.

  But things had changed to the point where it completely deviated from what she had anticipated.

  Furthermore, it was not a power from the Profound Sky Continent who had created this drastic change, it was Moonflower herself!

  This finally resulted in Yun Che facing the most dangerous situation he had ever experienced in both his lives barely an hour after she had resolutely left.

  After feeling Xuanyuan Wentian’s aura abruptly latch on to her own, Feng Xue’er’s heart, which had been in a constant state of panic and fear, instantly descended into an icy abyss. She grabbed on tightly to the blood-soaked Yun Che. All of the Phoenix flames surrounding her body started to burn even more vigorously as she desperately utilized all of her power to flee westwards at her fastest possible speed.

  Her innate talent was matchless and she had already arrived at the peak of the Profound Sky Continent even before her powers had fully awakened. But the person who was chasing her just had to be Xuanyuan Wentian! Even when she was desperately using her full power to flee, she could feel that dreadful aura creeping closer and closer. The power that had latched onto her body also kept growing colder and heavier.

  After turning around, she could see a blurry black dot rapidly growing bigger in her vision zooming in from the distant horizon.

  She glance at Yun Che, who was in her arms, as the fear in her eyes slowly melted into heartbreaking sadness and gentleness… When they had been on the Primordial Profound Ark all those years ago, Yun Che had desperately fled while holding her in his arms. He was originally completely uninvolved in the entire matter, he could even have preserved his own life by handing her over to Ye Xinghan. Furthermore, it was likely that he would have gained some “benefits” from doing so. But he had not and the arm that was tightly wound around her did not relax in the slightest… Even when Ye Xinghan was hot on their heels.

  It was at that moment that his name and figure were deeply engraved in the deepest parts of her soul.

  Feng Xue’er’s speed began to slow because she knew that if it was Xuanyuan Wentian who was chasing them, any further attempt to flee would be meaningless.

  “Big Brother Yun, Xue’er does not have the strength to protect you but… don’t worry Big Brother Yun, no matter where you go, I will… forever be by your side…”

  After saying those words, all the fear in Feng Xue’er’s heart suddenly disappeared as she slowed down… As she was prepared to turn around and clash with Xuanyuan Wentian, a figure suddenly appeared like a ghost in front of her. This person was wreathed in an aura that was incomparably sinister and cold.

  Feng Xue’er gave a small gasp as she ground to a complete halt and dazedly stared at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of her, “You…”

  He was all dressed in black, his half-opened eyes glowed with a black light and one could barely even see any white left in his eyes. There was even a layer of pitch-black mist that surrounding him and a pitch-black greatsword, the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, was slung across his back!

  This person was astonishingly Fen Juechen!

  The devil blood in his body had awakened and his power had grown explosively in the past few weeks. Today he had come to Divine Phoenix City to use his greatly increased strength to kill someone he had desired to kill… and the person he desired to kill the most was naturally Xuanyuan Wentian!

  Because he was the chief mastermind of the plot that had destroyed the Eternal Night Royal Family one thousand years ago!

  Fen Juechen also believed that Xuanyuan Wentian would definitely attend the engagement banquet of Yun Che and Feng Xue’er.

  He was not clear as to the limits of Xuanyuan Wentian’s strength but his greatly increased strength had given him much confidence. Moreover, he could not contain the desire to immediately vent the deep resentment and hatred that lay in the depths of his soul. But the first person he had met when he had arrived at the Divine Phoenix City was Yun Che. Even though the two of them were not in agreement with each other and Yun Che’s words had even caused him to go into a rage, those words had indeed splashed a bucket of cold water on his agitated brain, causing him to regain some clear-headedness.

  As the heroes of the realm gathered to attend the engagement banquet, Fen Juechen brooded outside the gate of Phoenix City. After a long while, he finally managed to choose self-control and turned around to leave. Yun Che’s words had indeed reached him, his devil blood had just awakened and there was still a lot of room for growth. If he lost because of a moment of impulse, then everything he had endured would have been for nothing.

  After that, he left Divine Phoenix City.

  But he had never thought that he would actually meet Feng Xue’er and Yun Che in this place… with one Xuanyuan Wentian hot on their heels!

  “He’s dead!?” Fen Juechen coldly said as he stared at the blood-soaked Yun Che who did not even have a trace of life left.

  “Don’t spout nonsense!” Right now, the word “dead” assaulted Feng Xue’er’s weak mental state. She vigorously shook her head as she said, “Big Brother Yun won’t die… Big Brother Yun won’t die so easily!”

  “…” The black light in Feng Juechen’s eyes trembled as Xiao Lingxi’s soft but resolute voice echoed in his mind…

 
“…The reason why I did not accompany him all those years ago was because I could not leave my father to languish by himself. Right now, Father has Xiao Yun… So if anything happens to Little Che, I will definitely go accompany him right away, I definitely won’t allow him to stay in the other world by himself…”

  “Ssss…”

  Fen Juechen’s mouth twisted faintly as the black energy around his body began moving agitatedly as if it was mist that was being blown around by a strong wind.

  “Since he isn’t dead… then why aren’t you getting him away from here right away!?” With an abrupt roar, Fen Juechen fully opened his eyes and stared at the black shadow that was swiftly closing in from behind Feng Xue’er. He gritted his teeth firmly before snarling out a name in a voice that was so cold that it penetrated bone, “Xuan… yuan… Wen… tian!!”

  BOOOOM!!

  Amidst the violent explosions of cold and sinister energy, Fen Juechen shot forward like a black bolt of lightning. He swept past Feng Xue’er, radiating a heaven-shaking aura of malevolence and killing intent as he rushed towards Xuanyuan Wentian. As he rushed forward, Fen Juechen let out a roar that was filled with boundless hatred and resentment, “Xuanyuan Wentian, hand over your life!!”

  Feng Xue’er stood there completely dazed for a moment.

  When she suddenly met Fen Juechen, she had felt her heart sinking. Compared to Xuanyuan Wentian, Fen Juechen was the person who most wanted to kill Yun Che in this world and this occasion was the perfect opportunity for him to do so.

  However, he not only did not make any moves to take advantage of the situation, instead he… rushed towards Xuanyuan Wentian who had been hot on her heels.

  She had personally seen and felt the dreadfully dense and intense hatred and killing intent Fen Juechen had towards Yun Che. But right now, he was actually doing something that completely contradicted that!?