Chapter 1369 - Scarlet Star
“Xian’er dares not disobey your order, Lord Phoenix God, but Xian’er cannot possibly bear a… ‘request’ from you.” Feng Xian’er bowed down deeply before the Phoenix Soul in panic.
“Yes, you can,” the Phoenix Soul said. The light in its pupils was growing weaker year by year, just like its voice was growing heavier and heavier, “My wish for you is to leave this place and stay by Yun Che’s side for as long as you can.”
“Ah?” Feng Xian’er was surprised at first, but then she recalled the Phoenix Soul’s so-called “request” and panicked even more, “He’s a great benefactor of Xian’er. Xian’er cannot harm him no matter what.”
“This noble one is definitely not asking you to do him harm, much less conspire against him.”
“Then… are you asking Xian’er to protect him, Lord Phoenix God?” She relaxed slightly when she heard its assurance.
The Phoenix Soul said, “He does not need your protection, for he’s close with all the strongest profound practitioners on this continent. However, there’s one thing that only you can do.”
“Only… me?” Feng Xian’er repeated the word softly while feeling lost.
“You will do well to remember everything this noble one says starting now. You are not allowed to forget a even single word because it concerns Yun Che’s life, fate… and even the life and death of this continent itself!”
Feng Xian’er stared towards the front while feeling confused…
…………
The world beyond the Phoenix Barrier was the “outside world” to Yun Wuxin. It was a world she had never set foot on until now.
Feng Xian’er carried Yun Che, while Yun Wuxin carried Chu Yuechan. Up in the sky where the horizon had no limit, and the air was completely different… Yun Wuxin looked as excited as a bird who had just exited her cage as she took in her surroundings and gulped down the different air greedily.
“We’ve finally left.” Chu Yuechan stared into the distance with complicated eyes.
To another person, a life without desire at Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace or years of isolation in the Phoenix Clan might’ve felt like a prison, but Chu Yuechan had gotten used to it since a long time ago. In fact, she was very afraid of what the future might have in store for them.
Ultimately, Yun Wuxin was the biggest reason why she had decided to leave with Yun Che.
“Little Fairy,” Chu Yuechan couldn’t hide her thoughts from Yun Che. He said softly, “I’ll always be with you.”
Suddenly, a dangerous presence approached them from the distance.
It was a giant eagle that was covered in green from head to toe. It had started a windstorm while it was flying in the sky, and the target of the windstorm was none other than them.
Feng Xian’er tensed up and moved in front of Yun Che right away. Unlike her, Yun Che didn’t look worried in the slightest.
“Eh?” Yun Wuxin looked over and pointed a finger at the giant eagle.
The windstorm the giant eagle had created was instantly dispelled, and it was locked in mid dive by a power that it couldn’t possibly resist even if it was ten times stronger.
Yun Wuxin examined the eagle very seriously before asking, “What’s that? It’s so pretty, but it’s also very vicious.”
Yun Che smiled, “That’s the Fierce Storm Hawk. A long time ago, I fell here because it was chasing after me.”
“Ai?” Yun Wuxin’s lips parted a little when she heard this. Then she said somewhat angrily, “It chased after you before, daddy? It must be a bad bird!”
She pointed a finger at the Fierce Storm Hawk again, and the poor thing started spiraling downwards like a top until it flew out of Yun Che’s vision.
“Hahahaha,” Yun Che let out an unrestrained laugh, but frowned afterwards.
First, it was the Blue Scale Beast. Now, it was the Fierce Storm Hawk. For whatever reason, they had changed so violently and were so different from what he remembered that it was almost as if they were distorted by something.
Wait a second… distorted!?
If there was one thing Yun Che knew could distort a living being’s nature, it could only be darkness profound energy!
However, this was the Profound Sky Continent, and no one besides him possessed darkness profound energy after Fen Juechen and Xuanyuan Wentian were gone. Moreover, the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest near the Supreme Ocean Palace was in constant lockdown, so no demonic energy should’ve leaked into its surroundings. Even if it wasn’t sealed, this place was still too far away to succumb to its influence.
While Yun Che was thinking to himself, a red flash suddenly caught his attention.
He subconsciously looked towards the east, and was immediately greeted by the sight of a bright scarlet star.
Right now it was daytime, and the blazing white sunlight shining in the sky should have been more than enough to cover up any star or moon. However, the scarlet star remained visible to the naked eye, and its light seemed sharp enough to pierce anything. When Yun Che stared at the star directly, he felt like a pair of scarlet needles had pierced through his eyeballs. Even his heart and soul were writhing in indescribable pain.
That’s...
“Eh? Mom, look! That red star has shown up again.”
Yun Che was still wrestling with his bewilderment when Yun Wuxin’s soft cry reached his ears. Then, the red star suddenly vanished into nothing and stayed that way for a very long time.
Red star… did she say “again”!?
“What’s up with that red light? Does it appear frequently?” Yun Che turned around and asked.
Feng Xian’er answered him, “That’s what we call the ‘Scarlet Star’. It started showing up half a year ago, but it almost never hangs around for long before it vanishes again. However, its true identity remains unknown even to this day, although there are a lot of rumors that claim that it is a sign of good fortune.”
Yun Che, “...”
“Actually, it isn’t just showing up at the Profound Sky Continent. Big Brother and I once saw it while we were exploring the Illusory Demon Realm.” Feng Xiang added before muttering to herself, “It seems to be showing up more and more frequently lately.”
“Half a year ago…” Yun Che frowned before asking suddenly, “Isn’t that about the time the profound beasts started growing restless?”
“Ah?” Feng Xian’er was caught off guard, “I... think so, yes. Are the two of them connected somehow?”
“...” Yun Che fell silent for a moment before he smiled at her and said, “It’s just a harmless guess. Anyway, let’s go.”
“Oh right, why did the Phoenix God summon you, Xian’er?” Yun Che asked without thinking.
“About that…” Feng Xian’er bowed her head slightly before replying softly, “I don’t want to hide this from you, but… Lord Phoenix God told me not to tell anyone about it, so… I’m sorry…”
Yun Che hurriedly waved his hands and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. The Phoenix God must have summoned you for something important. It’s my fault for asking about it without thinking.”
Feng Xian’er opened her mouth as if she was about to speak, but she ultimately decided not to.
The Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range was home to many profound beasts, and most of them had turned violent for some reason. They had immediately attacked the group the moment they were within sight.
They had been attacked twelve times in total by the time they finally made it out of the mountain range.
Fortunately, most of the profound beasts living in this place were at the Spirit Profound Realm or Earth Profound Realm. Anything above that such as Sky Profound Beasts were extremely rare. Considering the caliber of Feng Xian’er and Yun Wuxin, it was impossible for these mindless profound beasts to threaten them no matter how many there were.
When the group had finally left the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, Yun Che finally realized that the territorial profound beasts had largely left their own territories for some reason. Not only were the villages situated next to the mountain range destroyed, even the official roads were unusually empty. He couldn’t find a single person even though it was broad daylight.
“Is it the same at other places?” Yun Che asked.
“Mm.” Feng Xian’er nodded, “The worst affected area was the Wasteland of Death. The disaster zone spans hundreds of kilometers in diameter, and no one dares to get close to it these days. Although the agitated beasts have been suppressed multiple times already, it was rumored that the unrest has only been growing day after day. If this situation continues, it is likely that every profound beast in the Wasteland of Death will turn violent as well.”
If this was true, then the only viable solution to quell this unrest might be to slaughter every profound beast that exists in the Wasteland of Death.
The Wasteland of Death was four hundred kilometers wide… It was the most dangerous place in Blue Wind Nation where countless dangerous profound beasts lived. The profound beasts of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range had nothing on them. A long time ago, Chu Yuechan had nearly died to two Flood Dragons in that place.
If the Divine Phoenix Sect hadn’t been lending their aid to Blue Wind Nation, this unrest would have eventually led to a great catastrophe.
What on earth is going on!?
While Yun Che was explaining the culture and people of Blue Wind Nation and Blue Wind Imperial City to Yun Wuxin, they suddenly heard the roars of several profound beasts and the sound of something cutting through the air so quickly that they were almost overlapping right ahead of them.
Yun Che easily figured out that it was the sound of sword blasts tearing through space.
Feng Xian’er came to a stop and explained to Yun Che, “It’s that Ling Jie we ran into the day before yesterday.”
“Ling Jie?” Chu Yuechan shot him a sideway glance, “The second young master of Heavenly Sword Villa?”
Back in those days, Ling Jie had fought Yun Che during Blue Wind Ranking Tournament. He had proven himself to be more talented than his older brother, Ling Yun in the sword when he was just sixteen years old, stunning everyone.
“It is him,” Yun Che replied. “He has been roaming the world for the past few years to improve his cultivation, and help me find you. He wishes to atone for his mother’s sins.”
Chu Yuechan, “...”
“I owe him several favors myself. When I went to fight the Burning Heaven Clan, he had worried over my safety and traveled a long way just to aid me in battle… When his grandfather, Ling Tianni tried to kill me, he risked his own life by standing in his way… And when I had traveled to Divine Phoenix Nation to participate in the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament, he once again made a long trip just to cheer me on at risk of his own safety. Objectively speaking, they really can’t be considered big favors, but they are still incredibly precious and pure to me.”
Yun Che let out a soft sigh before continuing with complicated feelings, “He was why I ultimately decided against killing Xuanyuan Yufeng despite learning of her atrocities.”
“Should we avoid him?” Feng Xian’er asked. It was clear that Yun Che hadn’t been willing to see him the other day.
“No, it’s fine.” Yun Che smiled, “It’s rare to meet up like this; we can’t just leave without greeting him.”
Ling Jie obviously wasn’t here to cultivate since his current level far outmatched the creatures of this place. The real reason he had lingered around this area for the past couple of days was to save those people who had strayed into this area by accident, just like how he had appeared like thunder when Feng Xian’er and Yun Che were attacked by the Blue Scale Beasts that day.
Crack!!
A glaring sword blast tore black marks across space itself, and clumps of rampaging profound beasts fell to the ground in pieces just like that. When the final profound beast had let out its death throe, Yun Che abruptly entered his vision.
Ling Jie’s entire body froze as if he had fallen into a trance.
“Long time no see, Little Jie. Your looks haven’t changed since we last met though.” Yun Che smiled at him as Feng Xian’er carried him to the ground.
Ling Jie remained absent-minded for several breaths before he finally stuttered out in disbelief, “Yun… Yun… Ah, no… You… you’re really…”
“It’s only been five years since we last met, right? Have you forgotten about me already?” His reaction had amused Yun Che.
“N-no…” Ling Jie hastily shook his head. Finally believing that his own eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, Ling Jie made his way towards Yun Che in unspeakable excitement, “Boss, it’s… it’s really you? I heard that you’d gone to a higher plane, and you… you… have you just returned from another world? But… but you look…”
Naturally, Ling Jie couldn’t sense any profound aura from Yun Che at all… Although this could be explained away as the gap between him and Yun Che being so wide that the latter’s aura was impossible to perceive, it wouldn’t explain why Yun Che’s skin looked as rough as it did, or his unusually murky pupils...
“Mn,” Yun Che nodded, “I have gone to another world. In fact, I’ve just returned from there not too long ago. As for my current appearance… well, as you can see, I’ve lost all of my profound energy, and I’m basically a cripple from here on.”
Shocked, Ling Jie couldn’t find it in himself to believe Yun Che’s words, much less accept them. He murmured, “How… How can that…”
Ling Jie’s gaze strayed sideways unconsciously as he spoke, and Chu Yuechan abruptly entered his vision… In that moment, the Celestial Yang Sword fell out of his grasp, and he shuddered like he had just been struck by lightning. The sword that had never left his hands hit the rocky ground with a crisp clank.
“Fairy… Yuechan!?” Once again, he had become frozen on the spot. In fact, the turmoil in his eyes seemed to be bigger than when he had seen Yun Che just now.
Chu Yuechan was once the number one beauty in Blue Wind Nation. His father had obsessed over her like a madman, and his mother had been so jealous that it had driven her to madness… She was also the woman he had hoped even in his dreams to find all these years.
“Mn,” Yun Che smiled, “I’ve finally found her.”
Bang!!
Ling Jie’s knees crashed heavily on the ground, and the tears in his eyes spilled out like a broken dam, “Fairy Yuechan, the sinner’s son, Ling Jie… is here to apologize on his late mother’s behalf!”
Ling Jie slammed his head to the ground right after he said this. Since he hadn’t protected his forehead with profound energy, blood spilled on the dusty ground the second the two made contact.