Chapter 116: Sorry, I'm Late

"It's truly incredible. Despite your profound affinity for fire elemental energy and the severe lack of Phoenix Flame energy cultivation, you forcibly comprehended the Phoenix Flame Arts of the fifth and sixth stages of the 'Phoenix God Art'! Human, you have astonished me."

"The core strength of these two stages is a significant increase in Phoenix Flame energy," Yun Che calmly stated. "As for me, I merely comprehended the two flame arts; it's nothing remarkable."

"No! 'Phoenix Wing Heaven Dance' and 'Burning Star Demon Lotus' are the flame arts contained within these two stages, intrinsically linked to their flame energy concepts and forming a single entity. The fact that you could fully grasp these two flame arts without comprehending their concepts would undoubtedly shock even a living Phoenix. While it's true that your possession of the Heretic God's fire seed grants you an exceptionally high affinity for fire, even the Heretic God himself would find it nearly impossible to achieve this in just one month. Your astonishing comprehension is truly unmatched in this era."

This was the Phoenix Spirit's assessment of Yun Che. As the spirit of a divine beast, beyond the mortal world, it had never imagined it would one day offer such praise to a human.

The jade slip containing the 'Phoenix God Art' slowly vanished from Yun Che's hand. The Phoenix Spirit's voice resonated again: "Your time in this trial ground is nearing its end. It is time for me to send you out. But before that, perhaps I should give you a special gift."

In the dark world, a golden light suddenly shot forth, landing on Yun Che's forehead. Instantly, the crimson phoenix mark on his forehead appeared... but its color had changed from crimson to pure gold! It resembled a cluster of burning golden flames.

"This is..." Feeling the change in color of the phoenix mark on his forehead, Yun Che subconsciously touched it, asking in confusion.

"This is a special power I can only use once in my lifetime, but I don't believe I will ever need to use it. You, however, carry the power of the Heretic God, and your future is destined to be extraordinary. Bestowing this power upon you is most fitting. As for what kind of power it is, you will naturally know when you use it."

"Now, let me send you out. Your friend, and the Phoenix clan I placed a curse mark upon, are facing a great crisis. Only you can save them now... Go."

The Phoenix Spirit's voice faded, and its massive golden eyes vanished in the darkness. The space before Yun Che immediately distorted...

The sealing array temporarily opened, and Lan Xueruo darted out at top speed. Her eyes immediately assessed the situation outside. With a swing of her jade sword, she charged directly at the Black Demon mercenaries in front. The sealing array behind her reactivated instantly.

The leader, Black Demon, was not present, and neither were the other three True Profound Realm experts: Black Tiger, Black Ghost, and Black Wolf. This was undoubtedly the best possible situation for Lan Xueruo. With her True Profound Realm Level Three profound energy, if she wished to move about, these villains of the Elementary Profound Realm would be utterly incapable of stopping her.

"That girl is out... Quick! Go inform the leader!"

Seeing Lan Xueruo suddenly burst out, the closest squad was caught off guard. Before they could even attempt to stop her, Lan Xueruo had already disarmed all of them. With her strength, she could easily have killed them all, but the thought of taking a life had never crossed her mind.

The tent where food was stored was directly ahead, and Lan Xueruo spotted it at a glance. Wielding her jade sword, her graceful figure moved swiftly forward like a butterfly flitting through flowers, breaking through a dozen people's encirclement. In just a few breaths, she reached the front of the tent and quickly removed the spatial ring from her left jade finger...

Just then, two powerful gusts of wind suddenly pressed in from her sides. Deputy Leaders Black Tiger and Black Wolf simultaneously leaped out from behind the tent with leering smiles, swinging their mace clubs from left and right towards Lan Xueruo, forcing her to retreat quickly. Behind her, Deputy Leader Black Ghost also sprang out from an unknown spot. The three men, holding their maces horizontally, encircled Lan Xueruo, their smiles filled with wicked glee.

"We knew you might try this trick, tsk tsk, we've been waiting for you for a long time," Black Wolf licked his lips, his eyes full of lechery as he gazed at Lan Xueruo.

"This woman, to be beautiful to such an extent, it's enough to kill a man!" Seeing Lan Xueruo up close for the first time, Black Tiger's saliva was already flowing uncontrollably.

"What are you waiting for? Grab her first! This beauty, though young, is no weaker in profound energy than our leader, so be careful!"

With a low roar, three mace clubs swung simultaneously at Lan Xueruo from three directions. A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Lan Xueruo's mouth. She hadn't had a drop of water for four whole days. Although she was using her profound energy to sustain herself and appeared unharmed on the surface, her body was already weak and unstable from prolonged hunger, thirst, worry, and sorrow. Her profound energy could, at most, barely exert half of its usual power. She hadn't even detected where the three men had been hiding moments ago.

Under normal circumstances, she could have single-handedly dealt with these three True Profound Realm Level One individuals. But in her current state, not to mention defeating them, even escaping was almost impossible.

Wielding her jade sword and releasing her profound energy, she parried all three attacks with a single swing, but the recoil nearly made her lose her balance. Gritting her jade teeth, a faint golden glow flickered in her eyes as she concentrated all her profound energy. Instead of attempting to fight, she suddenly leaped up, performing a somersault in mid-air, trying to break out of their encirclement. However, the three men had clearly anticipated her move. Black Ghost sneered, "Trying to run? Heh heh, since you're out, don't even think about going back... Heaven-Shattering Tremor Strike!"

Black Ghost leaped up right after her, fiercely swinging his mace at Lan Xueruo in mid-air. Lan Xueruo parried with her sword, but stumbled upon landing. At that moment, a burst of wild laughter echoed from behind her: "Hahahaha! Good! This is truly excellent! We haven't waited in vain for over a month; the beauty has delivered herself to us, hahahaha!"

This voice sent a chill down Lan Xueruo's spine, as it was unmistakably Black Demon's.

No sooner had the voice faded than a powerful gust of wind struck from behind. Lan Xueruo had no escape, and no time to even swing her sword. She could only push out her hand to meet the blow head-on.

Pfft!

With her profound energy unstable and being caught by a sneak attack, how could Lan Xueruo possibly withstand Black Demon's blow from behind? Her delicate body was directly sent flying, and a trickle of blood slowly traced down the corner of her mouth.

Black Demon was momentarily stunned. He had fought Lan Xueruo before and even been injured by her, so he held some apprehension, which was why he resorted to a cowardly sneak attack. He hadn't expected his strike to be so effective. Watching Lan Xueruo slowly wipe away the blood from her mouth, Black Demon stepped closer, grinning an ugly smile. "Heh heh, little beauty, you can't escape this time. Come back with me obediently and be my leader's wife. I promise you'll live a life of luxury. When that happens, letting all those people inside go will be just a word from you."

Lan Xueruo rose from the ground, her beautiful eyes cold and sharp, but a wave of sorrow welled within her: She never imagined that her noble self would be forced to the brink of despair by a group of despicable villains. She said nothing, holding her jade sword horizontally before her, preparing for her final, desperate struggle.

"Tsk, you're quite stubborn," Black Demon pinched his chin, approaching Lan Xueruo step by step, his smile growing increasingly grim. "It seems if I don't knock you out, you won't behave. When you wake up and see yourself stripped bare, I wonder if you'll still be so stubborn."

The surrounding Black Demon mercenaries all let out a chorus of lewd laughter. Black Demon took a large step forward, sweeping his mace club horizontally towards Lan Xueruo.

Clang!!

Lan Xueruo gritted her jade teeth, fully parrying Black Demon's attack. The first parry forced her back a large step. The second parry left her right arm numb, and she nearly fell. The third time, she was directly knocked to the ground, her jade sword sent flying far away.

"Hehehehe," Black Demon tossed his mace club aside, rubbing his hands together as he walked towards the fallen Lan Xueruo. Amidst lewd laughter, he reached out a hand towards her.

Just then, a piercingly clear phoenix cry suddenly resonated in their ears, causing their ears to ring. Black Demon's entire body stiffened, his movements halting. Before he could even react, he saw a colossal flame silhouette suddenly burst through the array at the sealed cave entrance, rushing towards them with a searing wave of heat.

That flame silhouette... was like a small phoenix, spreading its wings and soaring!

Wait... a Ph-Phoenix?

Everyone's eyes widened instantly, their mouths agape. After breaking free from the sealing array, this "phoenix" streaked like a rapidly plummeting meteorite towards Lan Xueruo's location.

Boom!!!!

The phoenix crashed to the ground, triggering a flame explosion with a diameter of over fifty meters.

Black Demon, Black Tiger, Black Ghost, Black Wolf, and all nearby Black Demon mercenaries were blasted away by the fiery wave, sent sprawling and disoriented. They then frantically rolled on the ground amidst screams, trying to extinguish the flames burning on their bodies.

Black Demon was flung several tens of meters away. He staggered to his feet, desperately slapping at the flames on his body, roaring, "Who! Who is it?!"

No sooner had he shouted than his eyes suddenly widened... because as the fiery red glow gradually dissipated, he discovered several silent corpses before him. Everyone below Elementary Profound Realm Level Five within the flame explosion's range had died on the spot. Some bodies were blown into several pieces, leaving no complete corpse, while others were still burning fiercely, slowly turning into gruesome charred remains.

The fiery red glow gradually faded. At the center of the explosion, Yun Che held Lan Xueruo's waist, embracing her weak body with the gentlest movements. A faint red glow still enveloped him, yet it didn't burn Lan Xueruo's body or clothes in the slightest. Seeing the pallor on her face and the trickle of blood at her mouth, and feeling the profound weakness emanating from her body, Yun Che's heart ached. He softly said, "Senior Sister, I'm sorry, I came late..."