Chapter 416: Playing Life Against Life

"Run, why aren't you running anymore? Have you accepted your fate, or have you been scared out of your wits?" Feng Chihuo burst into maniacal laughter. "Alright, this cat-and-mouse game should end. Although I've spent too much time on you, this huge unexpected gain makes it worthwhile. I hear you're still the son-in-law of the Azure Cloud Royal Family... Tsk tsk, if that wretched emperor of the Azure Cloud Nation and his lowly subjects knew that their esteemed son-in-law was actually a demon from the Illusory Demon Realm, I wonder what a spectacular reaction that would be... Hahahaha."

After his wild laughter, Feng Chihuo's expression suddenly turned grim. "Although I won't kill you, before I hand you over to our Sect Master... I will make you wish you were dead! The way you toyed with me earlier... now I'll settle that score with you!"

Feng Chihuo suddenly swooped down from the sky, swinging his arm fiercely. Instantly, a fire pillar, three zhang wide, shot downwards, rapidly transforming. By the time it neared Yun Che, it had become a swirling flame phoenix. Its scorching heat threatened to melt the very ground.

Yun Che was not afraid of the phoenix flames, but within the fire was a profound energy impact from a high-level Overlord. Yun Che's expression grew serious. He instantly grabbed Dragon Fault, let out a roar, and the heavy sword's power surged upwards, meeting the flame phoenix head-on.

Whoosh!!The phoenix flames and the heavy sword storm collided head-on. Yun Che's hair was wildly blown back, and his face contorted. The heavy sword's power only lasted for half an instant before being completely shattered. The flame phoenix violently descended, striking both Yun Che and Snow Phoenix Beast.

The sound of the phoenix flame's explosion was like rumbling thunder, and its terrifying heat caused the surrounding space to suddenly expand. From within the flames came Yun Che's muffled groan and the Snow Phoenix Beast's pained cry. One man and one beast were sent flying, one towards the east and the other towards the west.

"Xiaochuan!"The Snow Phoenix Beast completely lost its balance, tumbling like a leaf caught in a gale, landing hundreds of feet away. Two alarming patches of crimson rapidly spread across its originally pristine white wings. After it fell, there was no sound. After all, it was only a Sky Profound Beast; how could it withstand a strike from a high-level Overlord?

Yun Che also crashed heavily to the ground, the violent impact creating a massive crater. After landing, Yun Che's clothes were tattered and soaked in blood, his limbs twitching uncontrollably. It was with almost his last ounce of strength that he leaned on Dragon Fault, struggling to stand, gasping for breath.

"Jasmine, with my current body, how long can I maintain the 'Purgatory' state at most?" Yun Che asked in a deep voice.

Jasmine knew very well that since Feng Chihuo had recognized Yun Che's profound aura, he had to be killed no matter what. To kill Feng Chihuo, Yun Che would have to forcibly activate the Purgatory Realm. She stated cautiously, "Fifteen breaths... At the absolute maximum, no more than twenty breaths. Otherwise, all the blood vessels in your body will burst, and even the Great Way of the Buddha will not be able to save you!"

"Tsk tsk, quite impressive. No wonder the Prince specifically sent me to kill you. You truly have some skill. To take a blow from thirty percent of my power and not be half-dead, but still be able to stand up."

Feng Chihuo descended from the sky and slowly walked towards Yun Che, his scornful gaze fixed on him like a lamb to the slaughter. He flexed his wrist, a cruel glint in his eyes. "You made this arm bleed quite a bit, and even the bones have a few cracks. To repay you for this 'gift,' should I break every bone in your body one by one, or crush them piece by piece?"

Yun Che gritted his teeth, forcibly pulling up the heavy sword, his entire body swaying. "Even if I die today, I'll fight with my life and leave a few more wounds on you!"

With that, Yun Che let out a fierce roar, unsteadily raising his heavy sword and striking towards Feng Chihuo, who was now only three steps away.

"Hahahaha!" The oncoming heavy sword carried no momentum; in fact, its weight made Yun Che's body seem ready to collapse at any moment. Feng Chihuo laughed loudly, dismissively reaching out to grab Dragon Fault. "You, with your strength, are not worthy of harming..."

Just as Feng Chihuo's palm was about to touch Dragon Fault, Yun Che's eyes suddenly changed. "Purgatory" activated instantly, and the previously faltering Yun Che became like a fierce beast suddenly awakened from an abyss, his entire body erupting with terrifying momentum.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!!"An earth-shattering dragon's roar erupted from Dragon Fault. The ground beneath Yun Che's feet violently trembled, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly. This sudden change caused Feng Chihuo's expression to drastically shift, but at such close range, even a god would struggle to react. The sword, imbued with Yun Che's full power, slammed heavily onto his arm.

Boom!!The sound of bones cracking was drowned out by the earth-shattering explosion of power. The surrounding rocks were violently swept up by the heavy sword's storm, then pulverized into the finest dust. Feng Chihuo's left elbow bone was directly shattered, and the immense impact sent him flying like a spinning top a hundred zhang away, where he crashed hard into a tall rock, smashing it to pieces.

Given Yun Che's strength, defeating Ling Tianni, who was at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, required him to team up with Xia Qingyue. To defeat Feng Chihuo, an eighth-level Sovereign Profound Realm expert, alone in a normal confrontation, Yun Che had no chance of victory. If he could continuously maintain Purgatory, he might be able to contend with Feng Chihuo, but killing him would be almost impossible. Moreover, his Purgatory state could only be activated for a maximum of fifteen breaths; exceeding fifteen breaths would be courting death, and beyond twenty breaths, it would be suicidal.

His only hope of killing Feng Chihuo was to exhaust all his strength and will, even pushing his life to its limits. At the same time, he had to employ every available strategy and tactic—no matter how devious or dishonorable.

Given Yun Che's body strength, a flame-attributed strike from thirty percent of Feng Chihuo's power definitely wouldn't have left him in such a sorry state. Even the torn clothes and numerous minor wounds were self-inflicted using his own power... all for this moment. And the effect was far better than expected—it directly crippled one of Feng Chihuo's arms!

With Feng Chihuo left with only one usable arm, Yun Che's chances naturally increased significantly!

With an enraged roar, Feng Chihuo rose from the shattered rocks. His entire left arm hung limply, grotesquely twisted. He clutched his excruciatingly painful, broken left arm with his right hand and roared like a madman, "Yun Che... I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!"

Feng Chihuo had lived for over a hundred years, possessing incredibly rich combat experience. He was by no means arrogant or conceited; on the contrary, he would be very cautious even when facing weaker opponents. However, Yun Che was simply too weak—at the Earth Profound Realm, two major realms below him. How could Feng Chihuo possibly be on guard against him? A tiger might be wary of an injured jackal, but it would never be wary of an injured young rabbit.

The excruciating pain in his arm was nothing compared to the shock in his heart. The power Yun Che had suddenly unleashed moments ago was something only a high-level Overlord could possess; how could it possibly come from an Earth Profound practitioner?

No sooner had he roared than a figure flashed before him. Yun Che had actually taken the initiative to attack, carrying a momentum no weaker than before, and his eyes, in particular, gleamed with a blood-red light.

"Die!!" Rage and resentment instantly overwhelmed all of Feng Chihuo's emotions. He roared, thrusting his right arm forward, his palm infused with violent profound energy, directly seizing at Yun Che's chest... intent on tearing Yun Che's heart apart. After losing an arm to Yun Che's sneak attack, he no longer cared if Yun Che was a demon from the Illusory Demon Realm; in his extreme fury, he only wanted to tear him to shreds.

Rip!!Feng Chihuo's palm struck empty air. Simultaneously, four figures of Yun Che appeared around him. Feng Chihuo, being extremely experienced, remained composed despite his shock. Instead of trying to pinpoint Yun Che's exact location, he unleashed his phoenix profound energy throughout his body, blasting outwards in all directions.

Bang!!Yun Che appeared behind Feng Chihuo, and Dragon Fault slammed solidly into Feng Chihuo's back. At the same moment, the profound energy Feng Chihuo had instantly unleashed also struck Yun Che's chest squarely.

Two different forces exploded simultaneously, making the surrounding mountains tremble violently. A spray of blood burst from Yun Che's chest, and he was sent flying backward. Feng Chihuo fared even worse; slammed into the ground by Dragon Fault, he rolled far away like a tumbling gourd. A half-finger deep indentation was left on his back. He slapped his hand on the ground and leaped up, but before he could even stabilize himself, he suddenly noticed that Yun Che, who had been sent flying, had inexplicably halted in mid-air. Then, engulfed in flames, Yun Che plummeted towards him like a meteor.

Phoenix Wing Sky!"Wh-What?!"

Feng Chihuo's eyes widened in disbelief; he couldn't fathom how Yun Che could manage to gain leverage in mid-air while being sent flying. His eyes darkened, and a ball of extremely potent phoenix flames blazed in his right palm. His entire palm, without reservation, concentrated all his power, which he then unleashed towards Yun Che with an angry roar.

Facing Feng Chihuo's attack, Yun Che's descent speed did not diminish in the slightest, nor did his direction deviate. He was clearly determined to take Feng Chihuo's blow while delivering his own sword strike. Having unleashed his full power, Feng Chihuo had no time to retract his move. Confronted with Yun Che's completely suicidal fighting style, Feng Chihuo's eyes were wide with a fierce glare, and he roared, "You're courting death!!"

Boom!!!!!!!!Yun Che's Dragon Fault and Feng Chihuo's palm simultaneously struck each other's bodies. In an instant, numerous blood vessels in Yun Che's arms burst, a large bloom of blood erupted from his chest, several ribs and his sternum fractured, and even his internal organs developed cracks. He was directly blasted a hundred zhang into the sky.

As for Feng Chihuo, all the sternum and ribs on the left side of his body were shattered, and his heart shifted an inch from its position. Streams of blood spurted like a fountain from his wounds. He couldn't imagine being so severely wounded by a single sword strike from a junior in the Earth Profound Realm, and that his own full-power strike, hitting squarely, had not pulverized the opponent's body. His force hadn't even penetrated the opponent's internal organs, being completely blocked.

Such power, such a body... how could it only be from the Earth Profound Realm... How was it possible?!

After a brief exchange, both men were covered in blood and injuries. This was because Yun Che's objective was not to merely fight, preserve his life, or defeat Feng Chihuo, but to kill him! To slay Feng Chihuo, in these short dozen or so breaths, he had to pour all his power into offense, not dispersing any strength or time on defense or evasion.

"Sky—Wolf—Slash!!"In the air, Yun Che completely disregarded his internal and external injuries. Before he even regained his balance, the heavy sword was already unleashed again with full force. A Sky Wolf shadow howled as it charged towards Feng Chihuo, slamming violently into his chest. Feng Chihuo's full power surged, firmly blocking the Sky Wolf shadow. However, the impact sent his body rapidly retreating, his feet plowing a dozens-zhang-long furrow in the ground in an instant before he barely managed to negate the power of the Sky Wolf Slash. But before he could even catch his breath, Yun Che descended from the air, delivering another sword strike.

Feng Chihuo cried out, condensing fire into a sword. But this time, he wasn't attacking Yun Che; instead, he used his phoenix flame sword to fully block Yun Che's heavy sword. Yun Che was fighting with his life in every move, but how could Feng Chihuo be willing to engage in such a life-for-life battle with Yun Che? At this moment, facing Yun Che's terrifying power and his mad, injury-for-injury fighting style, Feng Chihuo's anger was rapidly replaced by apprehension and fear.

With each sword strike Yun Che unleashed, dozens of blood vessels in his arms would burst, both arms instantly turning crimson, as if they had just been steeped in a pool of blood. His wounds continuously gushed blood, and his internal injuries worsened with each unreserved attack, yet he paid no heed. Every sword strike was executed with ultimate ferocity.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!