Chapter 1210: Another Phoenix Deity

Fire God Realm, Buried God Inferno.

Fire waves surged, and fiery light blazed across the sky. Before them lay a vast, real-life inferno.

It was a dangerous place, a forbidden zone where ordinary people were not allowed. At this moment, with a flash of profound light, two figures appeared simultaneously beside the inferno.

"Thank you, Sect Master Huo," Yun Che genuinely said to Huo Rulie, his gaze fixed on the boundless inferno ahead. Perhaps within this fiery abyss, he could find a way to defeat Jun Xilei... this was essentially the only possibility he could conceive.

Yun Che reached the edge of the inferno and was about to leap down when Huo Rulie's voice suddenly called from behind him, "Wait!"

Yun Che turned around. "Is there anything else, Sect Master Huo?"

"Young Yun," Huo Rulie took a deep breath, his eyes unsettled. "Years ago, you said you discovered the existence of two ancient Horned Dragons because you reached the bottom of the inferno. Is that... true?"

"Yes," Yun Che nodded. "Please keep this a secret for me, Sect Master Huo."

Huo Rulie stared at him, his expression shifting, unable to speak for a long time.

"While I don't know if this trip will yield anything, I will certainly return before my battle with Jun Xilei. I apologize for making you wait, Sect Master Huo."

With that, Yun Che leaped forward, his figure quickly swallowed by the vast sea of fire, his aura vanishing without a trace.

Huo Rulie did not leave. He stood transfixed at the edge of the inferno for a long time, muttering to himself in a daze, "This young man... who exactly is he...?"

Yun Che plummeted straight down through the sea of fire. The surrounding fire elements grew increasingly violent and terrifying, yet they couldn't harm him in the slightest. He furrowed his brows, recalling that peculiar soul sensation.

Years ago, when Mu Xuanyin was battling the ancient Horned Dragons, Yun Che first ventured into the Buried God Inferno. At its bottom, he sensed a distant soul presence. As he drew closer to the fire vein, that sensation grew clearer, seeming to summon and guide him.

However, as he approached, he discovered the truth about the two ancient Horned Dragons residing in the Buried God Inferno. In his panic, he frantically rushed out of the inferno and then fled to the Black Soul Realm, naturally having no opportunity to heed that soul reaction.

But when he found himself at a loss against Jun Xilei, he suddenly remembered it.

A soul sensation existing beneath the Buried God Inferno, yet extremely distant... what could it be? Yun Che had already formed a vague guess back then, and recalling it now, that guess became increasingly clear.

It had to be a divine spirit that had survived until now by relying on the Buried God Inferno!

And the most likely divine spirits that could exist and cling to such an environment were those of the Vermilion Bird, Phoenix, or Golden Crow. Since the Golden Crow divine spirit had already vanished, could it be a lingering Phoenix or Vermilion Bird divine spirit?

Although it was widely believed in the Fire God Realm that no divine spirits existed anymore, that was because no one had ever reached the bottom of the Buried God Inferno. At the bottom of the Snow Song Realm's Frozen Cloud Asgard, the remnant Ice Phoenix true god could barely survive by relying on the cold vein. The Fire God Realm's fire vein was undoubtedly stronger than the Frozen Cloud Asgard's cold vein, so it was perfectly normal for a remnant divine soul to survive by clinging to it until now.

Descending five thousand zhang, Yun Che reached the bottom of the inferno at his fastest speed. This place was already a purgatory beyond anyone's imagination. The violence and intensity of the fire elements here far surpassed even the comprehension of Supreme God Lords; a single cluster of flames would be enough to dry up an entire sea in the mortal world.

Fiery spiritual energy surged into his body like a storm, transforming into his profound energy. When he first arrived at the Buried God Inferno, his cultivation was only at the Divine Origin Realm. Now, at the Divine Tribulation Realm, the speed at which fiery spiritual energy flowed in had increased severalfold. In this extremely pure and highly advanced world of fire, even if he did nothing, it would surpass the arduous cultivation of others. However, it was absolutely impossible for him to reach Jun Xilei's level in a short time.

Yun Che's gaze fixed on the extremely distant yet remarkably clear crimson arc of light.

That was where the ancient fire vein was located.

Yun Che swiftly traveled in the direction of the ancient fire vein. His cultivation was far beyond what it once was, and his speed was much greater than on his first visit. The crimson arc of light approached his vision at an incredibly slow pace. Just then, Yun Che's heart suddenly pounded, and his body halted.

This was...

Yun Che's hand instinctively pressed against his chest. It was a sensation as if his soul was being gently stirred by an unseen force, mysterious and ethereal.

Exactly like last time!

This feeling... it truly was calling to me!

The soul sensation persisted, jolting Yun Che's spirit. He sped up again, passing through layers of fire gods and heading straight for the fire vein, his heart gradually pounding more intensely... What could it be? A Phoenix divine spirit, a Vermilion Bird divine spirit, or...

The Buried God Inferno stretched for a million li, and without the guidance of the crimson arc of light, it would be extremely difficult to navigate. As Yun Che proceeded, the soul sensation grew clearer and clearer.

He traversed a full hundred thousand li without a moment's pause. Gradually... it was within reach.

Yun Che finally stopped. Before his eyes, a crimson arc of light coiled like a dragon in the world of flames, winding endlessly toward the horizon, as if boundless. Staring at this crimson arc, Yun Che's eyes glazed over, and his spiritual perception experienced a bizarre emptiness... At that moment, he suddenly couldn't feel the presence of any fire elements. His senses seemed to be swallowed by an unseen void. This strange and terrifying sensation lasted for a long time, slowly disappearing only when his gaze shifted away from the crimson arc.

That was undoubtedly the ancient fire vein, an existence on the same level as the ancient cold vein of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, both powers left behind from the era of ancient gods.

However, the cold vein of the Frozen Cloud Asgard was short. Yet, the fire vein before him seemed endless. Perhaps its inherent power was so terrifying that it reached an extreme level that Yun Che couldn't even perceive.

"The Fire God Realm... perhaps no one would have imagined such terrifying power hidden within a middle-rank star realm," Yun Che mused involuntarily. "If the power here were unleashed, it should be enough to easily destroy a high-rank star realm, or even a King Realm, right?"

Yun Che slowly took a step, about to continue forward, when suddenly, two streaks of crimson fiery light flashed in the world ahead.

"Yun Che, you have finally arrived. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

A ethereal yet clear voice resonated in his soul. Yun Che abruptly looked up. In the distant sky, two slender, golden eyes slowly opened... Immediately, all the fiery light in the world dimmed, and within the vast inferno, those golden eyes seemed to be the only presence.

"Are you... a Phoenix divine spirit?"

They were golden divine eyes, but far more slender than those of the Golden Crow divine spirit. At the very moment he saw these eyes, Yun Che's memory flashed back more than a decade, to the first time he encountered a divine presence.

The Phoenix Eye in the trial grounds of the Phoenix remnant clan in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range of Azure Cloud Continent!

With the appearance of these golden eyes, a divine aura of Phoenix flames enveloped him.

"I am not a true divine spirit, but one of the soul fragments left behind by the Phoenix. I sensed your arrival three years ago, but you departed midway. Nevertheless, you have finally come. It seems this is also the guidance of fate."

It was indeed a Phoenix divine spirit!

After encountering the first Phoenix divine spirit in the Phoenix remnant clan years ago, this was the second one he had met! And a Phoenix divine spirit from the God Realm at that.

"You're summoning me? Why did you summon me back then? And why do you know my name?" As soon as Yun Che asked, he thought of something else. "Could it be that the other Phoenix divine spirit told you?"

"That is correct," the Phoenix divine voice calmly replied. "Though our planes of existence are different, as soul fragments left by the Phoenix, we can communicate through soul sounds and share memories. Not only do I know of you, but I also know that on the continent where you were born, two other soul fragments once existed. One became tainted by the mortal world and abandoned the Phoenix's will, but eventually repented. Upon sensing the arrival of the 'Great Calamity,' it bestowed everything upon a human. The other still exists in the world, though it too is on the verge of disappearing."

"Apart from them, I am the last wisp of Phoenix remnant soul in this world, but I can only barely survive by clinging to the Buried God Inferno. If I were to leave, I would quickly vanish."

"'Great... Calamity?'" Yun Che murmured. "Are you referring to that... 'Crimson Rift'?"

In recent days, he had heard some things about the "Crimson Rift" from Mu Bingyun. Although Mu Bingyun hadn't elaborated much, Yun Che at least had a general idea. At the same time, the four words "Crimson Rift" in his mind slowly began to align with some of the things the Golden Crow Soul and the Ice Phoenix Maiden had told him.

"Precisely." Just two words, yet the Phoenix's soul voice carried a sigh that seemed to echo from ancient times.

"What... what exactly is that thing? Is it really, as they suspect, possibly some great calamity?" Yun Che urgently asked.

"No one knows what it truly is," the Phoenix soul voice replied. "Even we, who are soul fragments left by true gods and possess true god-level perception, cannot ascertain what lies behind that 'Crimson Rift' or why it appeared."

"But there is one thing I am absolutely certain of: what lies behind that 'Crimson Rift' is not a 'possible calamity,' but an 'inevitable disaster.' And once this 'disaster' truly erupts, it will be far, far more terrifying than you can imagine... Perhaps, not just the Eastern Divine Region, but the combined might of the entire God Realm will find it difficult to resist."

"What?!" Yun Che's pupils contracted sharply. "The combined might of the God Realm can't stop it? How can there be such a disaster? Why do you think that?"

"Because the aura of that Crimson Rift evokes endless fear in my perception every time I touch it."

Yun Che: "..."

Although it was merely a soul fragment, it was ultimately a soul at the true god level.

For a true god-level soul to feel "endless fear" from merely a distant perception... what kind of disaster could that be?

No! There was one person who might know the answer... the Ice Phoenix Maiden beneath the Frozen Cloud Asgard! She was the first to tell him about the future "disaster" and seemed to clearly know its reasons. She was also the only being in the Primal Chaos that truly knew the reasons and truth.

Yet, she had also said she couldn't tell him now.

What exactly was it... What was the truth about that Crimson Rift?

"Although I am merely a soul fragment, I possess a high degree of divine dignity, and would never willingly extinguish my own existence to complete a human. However, in the world where you previously resided, a Phoenix fragment gave its entire being to a human girl. And here in the Fire God Realm, the last remnant soul of the Golden Crow also bestowed its entire existence upon a human boy named Huo Poyun."

"The only reason for this is the 'inevitable disaster' of the future."

"My guidance in bringing you here is also for this very purpose!"