Chapter 1065: A Momentary Flash of Fire

The blue light dissipated, and the space transformed back into a sea of churning crimson flames, once again dominating the world.

But everyone staring at the Vermilion Bird projection was utterly stunned, speechless for a long time.

“Dea… dead?” Yan Juehai murmured.

They had just witnessed the ancient horned dragon... shattered! Not the one that was riddled with wounds, but the other ancient horned dragon—the one that appeared later, with its dragon power at its peak, its body unscathed except for the wound on its horn from a thousand years ago!

It was... dead!?

Though the air around them was intensely hot, they felt an extreme chill invade their nostrils and chests.

The Divine Ice Phoenix Sect’s “Shattered Moon, Ruined Star” technique was long recorded in the Flame God Realm, but no one had ever witnessed it. Yet they never dreamed its power could be so terrifying... Mu Xuanyin, despite her greatly diminished profound energy, severe poisoning, and serious injuries, had instantly frozen the fire prison and, in the next instant, annihilated an ancient horned dragon possessing Divine Master-level dragon power!

The shock of this sight surpassed even the appearance of the second ancient horned dragon. Hunting the horned dragons had been the Flame God Realm’s dream for generations. And now, at this very moment, it was clearly displayed before their eyes, in a way they could never have imagined. But among them, not a single person showed even a hint of joy...

The countless ice crystals, fragments of the ancient horned dragon miraculously shattered by “Shattered Moon, Ruined Star,” fell into the churning sea of flames and were instantly swallowed by the fiery abyss, leaving no trace. They sank to the bottom of the endless fire prison. Without its source energy, these shattered dragon remains would soon be consumed by the fiery abyss and vanish completely. This meant that although the ancient horned dragon was dead... they couldn't even touch a single scale, only watch helplessly as it was consumed by the sea of flames.

“ROAR!!!!!!!”

“WOO-ROAR!!!!!!!”

A dragon’s roar, filled with endless fury, pain, and sorrow, awakened everyone’s trembling souls. The surviving ancient horned dragon bellowed, its roars shaking the Burial God Fire Prison into monstrous waves: “You... you actually killed it... you actually killed it!!”

“Despicable human! I will make you die! I will reduce you to the most humble ashes!! ROAR!!”

In its extreme rage and resentment, the ancient horned dragon was nearly insane. With a sky-ripping roar, it lunged at Mu Xuanyin, the instantly swirling dragon flames locking onto her aura and sealing all her directions and escape routes.

Mu Xuanyin was covered in blood, her face alternately pale as paper and red as blood. The resolute execution of “Shattered Moon, Ruined Star” had forced her to exhaust her Ice Phoenix origin blood and lose a vast amount of vital blood... it had also allowed the horned dragon’s poison to directly invade her soul. Her profound energy wasn't entirely depleted, but barely a tenth remained. With the Ice Phoenix origin blood now quiescent, the ice she released would no longer carry the divine power of the Ice Phoenix, significantly reducing its might... Facing the surviving ancient horned dragon, death was an inevitable outcome.

Yet she didn't resign herself to fate. Her eyes remained as cold as an abyss, and as her arm weakly lifted, the Snow Princess Sword flew back into her hand. Carrying her last vestiges of strength and light of life, she faced the enraged ancient horned dragon.

Clang!!

Ice crystals touched flames and melted instantly. Mu Xuanyin was forced back over ten miles, her body enveloped and consumed by the overwhelming dragon flames, which were also devouring her last light of life.

Yun Che watched blankly, his vision gradually blurring. Eight years ago, in the Northern Profound Sky Continent, on the Death's Embrace Wasteland, he and Chu Yuechan encountered a pair of flood dragons. Chu Yuechan, pushed to desperation, unleashed the Ice Cloud forbidden art “Zero Blossom” at the cost of destroying her profound veins, killing one of them... and then waited for death. This scene was strikingly similar to that one. Then, just like today, he could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything due to the vast disparity in strength... But fortunately, Jasmine was by his side then. At his plea, Jasmine, at the cost of the devil poison spreading further, ended the other flood dragon and saved Chu Yuechan. That was also the day when a “fated entanglement” was fully sown between him and Chu Yuechan.

“Sect Master Huo…”

Yun Che spoke weakly, but before he finished, Sect Master Huo shook his head and sighed, “You don’t need to say it; she cannot be saved. Although that horned dragon is in a terrible state and gravely wounded, it’s still a life-and-death battle at the Divine Master level. Not to mention you, even I would surely die if I got close, let alone try to rescue her—that’s simply out of the question.”

“If there were even a sliver of hope, we wouldn't be so indifferent... but there truly is no way to save her. Even if all of us went together, we couldn't save her; it would just be pointless self-sacrifice,” Yan Juehai also shook his head helplessly.

Yun Che couldn't comprehend the disparity between the Divine Sovereign Realm and the Divine Master Realm, but Huo Rulie and Yan Juehai's words held no falsehood.

Yun Che said nothing more, his gaze flickering with the scene from the Vermilion Bird projection. The Snow Princess Sword was still being wielded, its blue light growing fainter and fainter. He could already sense Mu Xuanyin's aura of death, yet where the sword danced, it continued to slice through the dragon flames enveloping her, layer by layer...

Master... she’s still fighting! Even at this point, she hadn't given up and resigned herself to death! Indeed, with Master's pride, even if she were to perish, she would choose the most tragic way, never passively accepting death as long as she had a shred of strength.

Yun Che bit down hard on his tongue, the metallic taste of blood and sharp pain spreading through his mouth and seeping into his soul. No! Master is fighting with her last ounce of strength and life; how can I, her disciple, just stand by and watch... Among everyone here, I am the only one who can truly go to any lengths to save Master! Others, no matter how strong or high their status, simply cannot be relied upon... The only one I can truly rely on is myself! Calm down... quickly calm down! Master is still alive... there must be hope, there must be a way! I once, by sheer conviction, accomplished so many things even Jasmine thought impossible... There must be a way!!

Yun Che's breathing gradually slowed, his previously chaotic mind struggling to find calm. He even closed his eyes, blocking out sound. In his entire world, only the sound of his own breathing and heartbeat remained. Think carefully... consider everything I possess... I must find a way... even if it's just a tiny bit of hope or possibility! I must find it... I have to find it!!

In mere moments, Yun Che's thoughts forcibly shifted from extreme chaos to a state of clarity.

In the Flame God Realm, with its hundreds of thousands of years of history, a host of Divine Sovereign and Divine King level experts, facing the Burial God Fire Prison they knew so well, could only tremble and feel helpless. Yet Yun Che, who had been in the God Realm for less than a year and whose profound energy was only at the lowest Divine Origin Realm, was now concentrating all his will, searching for a way to save Mu Xuanyin from Divine Master-level power... Anyone would consider it a joke. No one would believe he could find any hope... just as they wouldn't believe a grain of sand could destroy an ocean. But Yun Che was desperately striving with the entirety of his soul and will. Just as he had once, long ago, wagered his entire soul and will to retrieve the Underworld Brahma Flower for Jasmine.

Around him, the Flame God Realm crowd was either despondent, pained, or sighing. That instantaneous switch from heaven to hell was something they would never forget in their lives. All their beautiful, pre-conceived notions had now completely shattered into bubbles. And the Snow Song Realm King, moreover, was losing her life because of this... Undoubtedly, the Snow Song Realm would henceforth be at loggerheads with them.

“Poyun, you don’t need to push yourself too hard before the Profound God Convention now, alas,” Huo Rulie sighed heavily, deeply helpless. “This is fate.”

“Master, even if I am fated not to enter the Heaven Smiting Divine Realm, Poyun will certainly achieve the Divine Master Realm through hard work in the future; it will just take a bit longer!” Huo Poyun’s gaze remained clear and resolute.

“Good child.” Huo Rulie forced a smile, this being the only comfort available at the moment. He averted his gaze from the Vermilion Bird projection, for Mu Xuanyin’s last resistance was now utterly feeble; with almost every breath, her injuries deepened further. For a millennium, he had gnashed his teeth in hatred towards Mu Xuanyin, unable to restrain himself. Had such a situation occurred back then, he might even have felt a degree of satisfaction. But now, Huo Ye had been rescued, and by Yun Che, Mu Xuanyin’s disciple no less. He secretly regretted his actions of covertly harming Mu Bingyun when he was out of control and delirious back then. Now, he truly did not wish to see Mu Xuanyin perish under the horned dragon’s claws.

ROAR!!

WOO-ROAR!!

The ancient horned dragon’s enraged roars shook the heavens. Facing the tragic death of its companion, it had completely gone mad, and the surrounding fire prison had utterly transformed into a catastrophic inferno under its power.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—

Mu Xuanyin’s figure was sent flying. As she touched the fire prison, a layer of ice crystals painfully formed on her body. Then, clinging to the fire prison, she rapidly flew away. The instant she broke free from the dragon flames and rose into the air, the ice crystals completely shattered. Mu Xuanyin spat out three mouthfuls of scarlet blood, and her entire body turned a deep crimson, like the morning glow... Even her long hair had lost its icy blue color. Those who inherited the Ice Phoenix divine blood were not born with icy blue hair. It was a profound energy state that formed after reaching an extremely high realm, and also... a state of life. At this moment, her icy hair had completely dulled, nearly half of it turning the dark black of life’s beginning... This was not only the complete exhaustion of her profound energy but also the countdown of her life's light... The moment her hair completely returned to black would be the moment of her demise.

“The poison has completely entered her body,” Yan Juehai said distractedly. He turned to look at Yan Wancang: “Sect Master Yan, right now... what else can we do?”

Yan Wancang remained motionless, seemingly not hearing him. After a while, he spoke as if to himself: “The Snow Song Realm King is truly unfathomable. Severely wounded... burning her divine blood... losing vital essence... yet she could still forcibly hold on until now…”

“But under such circumstances, she is bound to run out of oil in her lamp, to be at her wit's end. Even if a miracle allowed her to escape... she would still surely die, alas.”

Just then, Yun Che suddenly opened his eyes. Deep within his extraordinarily clear and alert pupils, a flicker of crimson fire light flashed.

“Sect Master Huo, please do me a favor,” he said softly, staring straight ahead.

“What?” Huo Rulie turned his head.

“Please, Sect Master Huo, take me to Master,” Yun Che’s tone was exceptionally faint, as if he were speaking of a trivial matter.

“What did you say!?” This startled Huo Rulie immensely. “Are you insane?! I’ll say it again: your puny body would be utterly destroyed, not even bones left, if you got within a thousand miles... no, within two thousand miles of them. Get closer? That’s utterly impossible!”

“I know,” Yun Che nodded. “Therefore, I need Sect Master Huo’s power to protect me.”

“I can’t do it!” Huo Rulie turned his body and head, stating unequivocally, “I don’t have the ability to do it either. Not to mention you, even I would surely die if I got close... let alone needing to split my power to protect you.”

“And what could you possibly do by getting closer? Die alongside your Master!?”

He would never forget that day a millennium ago when his son, Huo Ye, in a moment of recklessness, wanted to experience the power of the Divine Profound Realm up close and secretly approached... When he got within about a thousand miles, he was struck by the residual cold energy from Mu Xuanyin... At that time, Huo Ye had just passed his heavenly tribulation not long before, possessing a cultivation at the Divine Spirit Realm Level One... It was this breakthrough, the surge in profound energy that made his confidence overly inflated, which led to the tragedy.