Chapter 316: Phoenix Soul?

The enormous mouth of the Azure Dragon's shadow descended like the firmament itself. Instantly, the surrounding starry sky vanished completely, replaced by a boundless darkness.

Boom... A thunderous roar echoed in Yun Che's mind. His entire spiritual world seemed to collapse under the impact in an instant. Although he had prepared himself sufficiently, he still hadn't expected the mental shock to be so terrifying. He roared, concentrating all his spirit and rousing all his will. But let alone subduing the opponent, even resisting was utterly impossible—he was completely overwhelmed.

He had suffered countless injuries in his two lives, but his soul had never collapsed, and his willpower was as tough as steel. However, under the impact of the Dragon God's soul, within just a few breaths, he was already on the verge of collapse. He felt like a fragile wooden boat, adrift and tossed about in a raging storm, perhaps to be completely swallowed by the waves in the next second.

He had originally thought that since the Primordial Azure Dragon asked him to try to fuse with the Dragon God's soul himself, this wisp of Dragon God's soul should be within his capacity to fuse, albeit with greater difficulty. But at this moment, he realized he was gravely mistaken. The intensity of this divine soul far exceeded his expectations by countless times. Even though he overcame the fear under absolute suppression with his extremely strong willpower, he was utterly powerless to resist, just like a young rabbit, no matter how fearless, could never truly contend with an eagle.

Crack! Yun Che's entire upper body trembled, and a clear snapping sound came from his chest. His spirit was completely suppressed by the Dragon God's soul, even on the verge of being swallowed, making it impossible to divert any part of his spirit to fuse with the Dragon God's marrow. The Dragon God's marrow directly broke through all suppression and rapidly surged within Yun Che's bones. Yun Che's face grew paler and paler, sweat poured down his forehead like rain, and even his tightly clenched teeth began to weaken.

“Alas...” The Primordial Azure Dragon let out a long sigh and murmured to itself: “Could it be that my perception was wrong? He possesses the Evil God’s profound veins, Desolate God’s power and profound arts, the Heavenly Wolf’s strength, and the Phoenix’s bloodline... but no divine soul? Yet, why do I always vaguely sense the aura of a divine soul on him...”

“Perhaps, I really was mistaken.” “A mere human soul can never fuse with a divine soul, not even a tiny remnant soul. For him to sustain himself for a full ten breaths with his soul power without completely collapsing is already a miracle. It seems his talent in soul power is no weaker than his profound energy. In that case, I shall help him complete it...”

As the Primordial Azure Dragon murmured, a ball of azure light slowly descended from the air. Just as the blue light was about to envelop Yun Che, it suddenly paused. From the air, the Primordial Azure Dragon's soft “Oh” could be heard.

On Yun Che's forehead, the flame mark of the Phoenix bloodline suddenly appeared at this moment. It was a golden flame mark, and this cluster of golden flame was actually burning! Clearly just a mark, yet it swayed with hot, dazzling golden fire.

“This... could it be?” The voice of the Primordial Azure Dragon, as the head of divine beasts, clearly held a hint of surprise at this moment.

Yun Che’s spiritual sea, which was on the verge of collapse, also suddenly erupted with endless flames at this moment. The “starry sky” that had been swallowed by the azure dragon shadow reappeared. Around Yun Che, a vast and boundless golden sea of fire emerged. Above the sea of fire, a crimson-gold great bird spread its wings and let out a long cry. Its body stretched for ten thousand miles, almost as large as the azure dragon shadow, and it burned with golden flames all over. As it cried out to the sky, dozens of surrounding stars also ignited, turning into scattered ashes in an instant.

Roar!! Shriek!! The azure dragon shadow and the golden great bird roared simultaneously, and the golden great bird's cry was faintly more resonant than the azure dragon's roar. It burst forth with crimson-gold light, and terrifying flames shot skyward, gushing out madly, forming countless giant solar flares that permeated the entire starry sky. Each flare was capable of devouring a star. As its crimson-gold wings flapped, all the flares flew towards the azure dragon shadow, concentrating together just as they approached it. They condensed into a small "sun" that was incandescently hot and blindingly soul-piercing, completely engulfing the azure dragon shadow's massive body.

Roar... Roar!!! The azure dragon shadow resisted and counterattacked, but that small sun was truly terrifying. Even this wisp of soul from the Dragon God was completely suppressed. Its resistance lasted for less than thirty breaths before it shattered instantly as its roars silenced, turning into blue stars drifting across the sky.

Yun Che's body swayed violently, and he suddenly fell backward onto the ground, his consciousness sinking into silence.

After Yun Che fell unconscious, he did not wake for a long time, and the phoenix mark on his forehead slowly faded. After a long silence, the voice of the Primordial Azure Dragon echoed from above once more: “So, my perception was not wrong after all... I just didn't expect the Phoenix soul to give you such a great gift. It seems it, like me, admires your talent and character... Or perhaps, it, like me, also saw that terrifying thing...”

“His speed cannot possibly be faster than ours. The western region has been largely searched these past two days. It seems he must be hiding in the eastern region... We’ve been fooled by him again!”

“Unless I personally tear him into a thousand pieces, I will never dispel this hatred in my life!” Fen Moli gnashed his teeth. Before encountering Yun Che, he would never have believed that he would one day be repeatedly infuriated to the point of nearly exploding by a junior.

He, a half-step King Profound Realm expert, a supreme figure dominating the Azure Wind, was actually toyed with repeatedly by a junior! And the last time, it took him a full two days to realize he had been fooled. If he could catch Yun Che, even mincing him into a paste might not fully vent the suppressed hatred in his heart.

“What’s going on here?”

Appearing before the seven individuals was an open expanse of land. In this Death Wilderness, the deeper one ventured, the more complex the terrain became, and the profound beasts grew stronger. However, the land before them was unusually empty. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single shadow of a profound beast, and even the roars of profound beasts could not be heard.

On the open land, a low hill and the cave beneath it were particularly eye-catching.

“This place was clearly formed by a battle; the strength of both combatants was at least at the peak of the Sky Profound Realm.” Fen Moli surveyed the terrain. “However, this battle must have taken place a year or two ago. It seems someone came here a year or two ago and clashed with a powerful profound beast.”

Fen Moli's gaze then fell upon the conspicuous cave. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and his face instantly turned grim. The other six individuals also clearly revealed sneers on their faces.

“Yun Che, you truly picked a good burial ground for yourself... This time, let's see where you can run!”

As soon as Yun Che's consciousness awoke, he jolted upright and quickly inspected his soul sea.

Upon this inspection, he was utterly stunned.

It was undoubtedly his own soul, intimately familiar yet utterly strange. Because his soul sea had transformed from an ocean into a true starry sky! It was so vast and powerful that he couldn't grasp its boundaries. The mental power it generated seemed capable of devouring any spiritual entity, and it appeared impossible for it to be threatened by any spiritual entity.

This... is this my soul? Such a soul had completely surpassed the limits of humanity; it simply shouldn't exist in a human.

Another strange sensation came from his body. He quickly introspected his bones and discovered that all the marrow flowing within them had turned golden yellow! His bone surfaces were subtly radiating golden light! And the marrow, which was originally as fragile as cotton, had become as tough as molten gold. His bones, already incredibly hard from the tempering of the Great Way of the Buddha and dragon blood, were now several times more solid! So solid that he was convinced even if he struck his own arm with full force using a heavy sword, he wouldn't break a single bone!

“You’re awake? You look surprised.” The voice of the Primordial Azure Dragon echoed in Yun Che's ears. Yun Che looked up and said: “I succeeded? But, I clearly remember... I clearly remember...”

Yun Che's last soul memory was seeing a giant fiery bird suddenly appear in his sea of consciousness, then submerging the azure dragon shadow with overwhelming flames...

What was that giant fiery bird? Why was it in my sea of consciousness?

“Yes, you succeeded. The Dragon God’s marrow and the Dragon God’s soul have both been completely fused by you. The entire process was much shorter than I anticipated,” the Primordial Azure Dragon said slowly. “And all of this was dependent on the phoenix soul power within you.”

“Phoenix... soul power?” Yun Che was astonished. He frowned slightly and asked, “But how could I have phoenix soul power?”

Back in the Phoenix Trial Realm, he was granted three drops of phoenix blood and a Wind God Pill, and he consulted the fragmented scroll of the Grand Phoenix Worshiping Tome. But none of these involved the Phoenix soul in any way. How could there be a Phoenix soul within him? And if there was, why had he never known about it?

“Phoenix soul power has always been within you, but it wasn't fused with your soul. Although it resided in your sea of consciousness, it existed independently. Two years ago, when I first met you, I sensed something, but I never expected that this wisp of phoenix soul power left within you would be the Phoenix's most precious wisp of soul... Your reaction tells me you weren't aware of the Phoenix soul's existence. It seems the Phoenix Spirit quietly bestowed a great gift upon you.”

Yun Che slightly tilted his head. At this moment, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly recalled that before he left the Phoenix Trial Realm, the Phoenix Spirit had cast a golden ray of light upon him, and subsequently, the mark on his forehead had also turned golden...

“...Perhaps I should give you a special gift... This is a unique power I can only use once in my lifetime, but I don't think I will ever need to use it. You, who carry the power of the Evil God, are destined for an extraordinary future. Bestowing this power upon you will be most suitable. As for what kind of power it is, you will naturally know when you use it...”

“Could it be that the gift it spoke of... was a wisp of Phoenix soul hidden in my sea of consciousness?” Yun Che murmured to himself.

“No!” the Primordial Azure Dragon said. “It is indeed a wisp of Phoenix soul, but it's not as simple as just a Phoenix soul. It is a heaven-defying ability unique to the Phoenix. Even I did not truly discern its existence before it actively unleashed its power. Its power extends far beyond mere soul protection.”

“Then what exactly is this power?” Yun Che pressed.

“Heh heh...” The Primordial Azure Dragon gave a placid smile: “You will naturally know when you use it.”

This statement from the Primordial Azure Dragon was identical to what the Phoenix Spirit had said previously.