Chapter 417: Fierce and Tragic

Each time Yun Che’s sword struck, Feng Chihuo felt as if he were being violently struck by a mountain, the impact rattling his internal organs to the point of shattering. Faced with Yun Che's blood-red eyes and the terrifying force emanating from his arms, he truly began to feel fear... But at that moment, under the suppression of Yun Che's heavy sword, he couldn't even retreat or escape, let alone utter a single word.

The world in Yun Che's vision had turned into a hazy red, and within this red world, only Feng Chihuo remained. His heart was completely filled with killing intent towards Feng Chihuo. Feng Chihuo was, after all, a high-level Overlord. Even Yun Che's attacks in his most extreme state were blocked by him repeatedly. Yun Che's eyes grew even more somber, and a beam of green light suddenly shot out from his left arm.

Profound Aura was initially red, turning orange after gaining the Dragon God's bloodline, yellow in the Evil Soul state, green in the Burning Heart state, and now, in the "Purgatory" state... it had strikingly turned green, just like Yun Canghai's! This green Profound Aura would possess half of his own immense power!

In this extreme state, using Profound Aura would undoubtedly accelerate his energy depletion significantly, causing a severe, unpredictable impact on his body. But to completely suppress Feng Chihuo, Yun Che finally resorted to using his Profound Aura.

*Bang!*

Feng Chihuo was already struggling to block the heavy sword. With the emergence of the Profound Aura, he had no remaining strength to defend, and it struck him violently in the head... Instantly, his brain roared, and he was sent flying backward, plummeting headfirst into the ground fifty zhang away, creating a crater several zhang deep. His head and upper body were directly buried at the bottom of the pit.

"Ah!! You bastard..." Feng Chihuo let out a beast-like roar and fiercely leaped out of the pit. His mouth and face were covered in blood, and his complexion was even redder than blood itself. On his forehead, there was a fist-sized bloody hole. Furious and appearing utterly deranged, he hadn't even finished his curse when a figure suddenly flashed before him. In his pupils, the gray heavy sword, burning with Phoenix flames, reappeared, along with the green Profound Aura that had transformed into a heavy sword.

Feng Chihuo's eyes were bloodshot. Gripping his sword with both hands, he poured all his strength into the flaming blade, meeting Yun Che's heavy sword and Profound Aura.

*BOOM!!!!*

In that instant, three small hills near them collapsed simultaneously. In the flattened area where the hills once stood, a blood-red sun seemed to rise out of nowhere. Within this crimson light, all rocks and trees were pulverized into fine dust. The two individuals, like leaves caught in a gale, floated lightly in two different directions.

*Thud!*

Feng Chihuo's body slammed heavily into an ancient tree. He fell to the ground, coughing violently, each cough bringing up large clots of blood, as if he were expelling his shattered internal organs... Yet, even in such a state, he found no respite, for Yun Che's figure reappeared before him, like a demon possessing a body.

At this moment, Yun Che appeared to be in an even worse state. His entire body was covered in blood; from his face to his limbs, there was hardly a spot untouched by gore. Especially from his arms, which gripped the heavy sword, streams of blood poured down. However, his terrifying aura and ghostly speed remained undiminished. The moment Feng Chihuo's gaze fixed on him, in the very next instant, Yun Che, using Star God's Broken Shadow, charged directly in front of him.

"You... lunatic!!" Feng Chihuo's eyes nearly popped out in sheer terror. Although he had endured Yun Che's heavy strike, Yun Che had clearly taken his full-force sword strike in return. He could also see how severe Yun Che's injuries were at this moment... But in such a state, instead of suppressing his injuries, he was pursuing so relentlessly!

Feng Chihuo had lived for over a hundred years; he had seen lunatics before, but never one so utterly insane.

He gritted his teeth, just about to gather his profound energy, when suddenly, his eyes widened dramatically... reflected in his pupils was a sky-roaring azure dragon shadow. Dragon Soul Domain!

The soul-shaking dragon roar echoed above the Phoenix Mountain Range, causing countless fiery profound beasts within the mountains to prostrate themselves, trembling in fear. Feng Chihuo's entire body began to cower, and an increasingly deep fear coalesced on his face. The profound energy he had just gathered rapidly dispersed in his terror...

Yun Che's "Purgatory" state had been maintained to its absolute limit. If he could, he would have loved to destroy Feng Chihuo with "Nihilistic Heaven and Earth," but his internal and external injuries were extremely severe, and his body was on the verge of complete collapse. If he were to use "Nihilistic Heaven and Earth" again, his body might instantly explode. And using the Dragon Soul Domain would cause immense mental strain in addition to his physical exhaustion... But unable to use Nihilistic Heaven and Earth, even at a huge cost, he resolutely activated the Dragon Soul Domain to eliminate any unforeseen circumstances and utterly obliterate Feng Chihuo. The Dragon Soul Domain would not only guarantee his sword strike hit but, more importantly, shatter the opponent's profound energy defense amidst their fear.

If Feng Chihuo had been in his normal state, as a high-level Overlord, the Dragon Soul Domain's effect on him would have been significantly reduced. But for Feng Chihuo, who was covered in injuries and in mental disarray, his spirit was instantly crushed by more than half. Yun Che surged forward, concentrating all his remaining power into his hands.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!!"

The heavy sword was raised, Phoenix flames flared, and Dragon Fault, carrying Yun Che's last remaining power, descended with a death-god-like aura, smashing towards Feng Chihuo's heart... Facing the approaching death, Feng Chihuo, trembling in fear, instinctively stretched out his hands to shield himself, even managing to erect a faint profound energy defense.

*BOOM!!!!*

The earth fractured. Feng Chihuo's defense, built in his collapsed state, shattered like a fragile soap bubble. Amidst the earth-shattering roar, a crack rapidly spread from beneath Yun Che's feet, extending over a hundred zhang away. Feng Chihuo had completely vanished from sight... his body had been blasted to an unknown depth beneath the ground.

*Drip...**Drip...*

Blood, like broken beads from a string, rapidly trickled from Yun Che's fingers onto the ruins beneath his feet, each drop splashing. The full-power strike he had just unleashed had caused hundreds of cracks to erupt all over his body. Blood stained him as if he were a demonic god of bloodlust crawled out from a battlefield of Asuras; even the wind blowing past him carried a pungent, metallic scent of blood. Finally... it was over...

*Clang!*

Dragon Fault slipped weakly from Yun Che's hand, clanging heavily as it hit the ground. The red light in Yun Che's eyes vanished, and the Profound Aura receded back into his arm. His eyes slowly closed, and after swaying for a moment, he finally collapsed heavily onto the ground... The moment he resolved to kill Feng Chihuo, he knew this battle would be incredibly brutal. Because with his current strength, truly killing a high-level Overlord would require an immense price. At last, he had succeeded... An Earth Profound practitioner slaying a late-stage Monarch Profound practitioner; he had arguably created a myth unprecedented on the Profound Sky Continent.

This outcome was crucially influenced by his initial surprise attack, which broke Feng Chihuo's arm. Otherwise, even in his extreme state, he would have found it difficult to suppress Feng Chihuo.

"Must... immediately... leave... here..." Yun Che's arm stretched out with difficulty, pressing onto the ground in front of him. It took almost all his strength just to crawl forward a few inches. What he should have done was heal his injuries, but this was the Phoenix Mountain Range, the territory of the Divine Phoenix Sect! Below them, the Grand Phoenix Formation was still active. The commotion from his fight with Feng Chihuo was immense, very likely alarming people from the Divine Phoenix Sect. If he didn't leave immediately, the consequences would be unimaginable. At that point, let alone an Overlord arriving, even the lowest-ranking disciple of the Divine Phoenix Sect could easily take his life.

He looked at his left hand, repeatedly summoning the Snow Phoenix Beast with his thoughts. However, the profound seal flickered several times, but the Snow Phoenix Beast never appeared. The profound seal hadn't disappeared, proving the Snow Phoenix Beast wasn't dead, but Feng Chihuo's attack was enough to severely wound it, leaving it on the verge of death.

"Hoo... hoo... ugh..." Heavy, pained groans suddenly reached Yun Che, growing steadily closer. Yun Che's expression shifted slightly, and he slowly turned his head. At the edge of the gully carved by the Heavenly Wolf Slash, a hand suddenly appeared... followed by a blood-soaked figure, slowly crawling out. Feng Chihuo!!

"Damn it... he's not dead!" Jasmine's voice was grim.

At this moment, Feng Chihuo was in an utterly miserable state; his entire body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, barely resembling a human. Yet he was clearly still alive, and his rapid ascent from the gully indicated that his condition was, at the very least, much better than Yun Che's. Impossible... Under the Dragon Soul Domain... he had virtually no defensive capability... How could he still be alive...?

The crawling Feng Chihuo shakily rose to his feet. Upon seeing Yun Che sprawled on the ground, covered in blood, his body swayed, but from his mouth burst a deranged, hoarse laugh: "Ha... haha... hahahaha... You little... bastard... how could you... possibly kill me..." He took a step forward, walking towards Yun Che one step at a time, a terrifyingly sinister expression on his face: "I'm going to tear you apart... bit by bit... tear your entire body... completely to shreds..."

Just then, a huge shadow suddenly swept across the sky, accompanied by a somewhat weak, prolonged cry. Yun Che struggled to look up, and then an expression of wild joy appeared in his eyes: "Little Chan!!"

Nearly half of the Snow Phoenix Beast's snowy feathers were stained crimson, yet it flew over with incredible resilience. It arrived above Yun Che, gently flapping its wings, and three ice spikes, accompanied by a cold glint, shot straight towards Feng Chihuo.

*Pffft! Pffft! Pffft!*

Normally, how could the Snow Phoenix Beast's attacks harm Feng Chihuo in the slightest? But at this moment, Feng Chihuo's entire body was severely damaged, he couldn't even walk steadily, making it impossible for him to withstand the Snow Phoenix Beast's assault. All three ice spikes easily pierced Feng Chihuo's body. One of them penetrated his throat, creating a fist-sized bloody hole. Feng Chihuo's eyes widened. Under the impact of the ice spikes, he fell heavily backward, completely motionless. Beneath him, a large pool of blood rapidly spread... This time, he was truly dead. Perhaps he had often considered how his life would end, but he could never have imagined dying so miserably, much less at the hands of a profound practitioner who was only in the Earth Profound Realm, and their contracted profound beast, which was only in the Sky Profound Realm.

Yun Che let out a heavy sigh. As his mind relaxed, the side effects of activating the Dragon Soul Domain surged over him, causing him severe disorientation. He stretched out a hand towards the Snow Phoenix Beast, his voice hoarse: "Little Chan... we... must leave... the higher, the better... the farther, the better..."

The Snow Phoenix Beast conjured a gentle breeze, lifting Yun Che onto its back. Then, it flapped its wings and ascended straight into the sky.

Yun Che's heart finally settled somewhat. At that moment, Jasmine's cold voice suddenly spoke: "You'd better try to stay conscious... You called it so many times before, and it didn't appear immediately. You should have known it was severely injured, especially its wings. Though it's barely managed to fly, it definitely won't go far."

Yun Che: "..."

Jasmine's words were by no means alarmist. Yun Che bit the tip of his tongue, regaining a momentary clarity of mind. He immediately felt the Snow Phoenix Beast's entire body trembling violently. Normally, it could fly steadily even in the strongest gales, but now, even gentle mountain breezes caused its body to shake violently.

"Little Chan... hold on!" Yun Che whispered. If he couldn't fly out of the Phoenix Mountain Range, he would surely die.

However, he had clearly underestimated the Snow Phoenix Beast's injuries. After struggling to fly for more than ten li, a strong gust of wind hit them head-on. Under this powerful wind, the Snow Phoenix Beast suddenly let out a pained cry, its wings abruptly spasmed, and then its entire body plummeted downward.

"Little Chan!!"

In response to Yun Che's shouts, the Snow Phoenix Beast showed no reaction, as it had directly fainted in mid-air. Yun Che possessed the Phoenix bloodline, the Dragon God bloodline, and the True God Profound Arts protecting him; his body was incredibly abnormal, able to endure even the most severe injuries. But the Snow Phoenix Beast was different; it was just an ordinary Sky Profound Beast. Struggling to fly for so long while heavily injured was already its limit.

Yun Che plummeted with the Snow Phoenix Beast, his powerless hands unable to even grasp its snowy feathers, gradually separating from it in mid-air... Not long into their fall, his body slammed heavily onto a patch of not-too-hard ground... It seemed to be a very steep slope. After he landed, he and the Snow Phoenix Beast quickly tumbled in one direction. In his hazy vision during the tumble, he caught sight of where they were rolling: it was a cliff... of unknown depth!! His gaze swept past the cliff, and what he saw were numerous low-lying mountain peaks... none of which were higher than his current altitude.

In that instant, he suddenly understood: he and the Snow Phoenix Beast had landed on the highest peak of the Divine Phoenix Mountain Range. They were rolling down from the summit of this highest peak... from a height of over one thousand five hundred zhang...

His body finally rolled to the edge of the cliff, and then, instead of rolling, it became a direct plummet... His head was facing upwards, so he couldn't see below. He didn't know if he was falling onto the side of the mountain, a mountainside... or if he would just keep falling until he hit the bottom.

The strong wind howled upwards. With his spirit and physical strength severely overdrawn, and his body covered in injuries, he was completely unable to control his body in the air, nor could he gather any defensive profound energy... He wasn't sure if his body, protected by divine bloodline and power, could withstand the impact of landing without profound energy protection... or if he would be instantly shattered into pieces...

The howling wind drowned out all other sounds. In Yun Che's consciousness, there was nothing but the sound of the wind; he had even lost the strength to cry out. Dozens of breaths passed, and the wind still roared in his ears. Finally...

*THUD!!!!*

He heard the tremendous sound of his landing. Faintly, there seemed to be a crisp cry of alarm from a girl...

The pain throughout his body faded, and his vision rapidly blurred as his consciousness slipped away... The final image was half a towering cliff and half a clear blue sky. At the very end of this scene, a dreamlike, beautiful girl's face suddenly appeared against the azure sky. She stared at him with beautiful eyes, brighter than stars, eyes as pure as the bright moon, filled with innocence, fright, surprise, and curiosity... Yun Che had many stunning beauties around him, but before this dreamlike beauty, his heart still uncontrollably trembled...

So beautiful... Is she an... immortal from heaven...?

This scene, so beautiful it seemed not to belong to the mortal world, became Yun Che's last conscious thought. Following that, he completely lost consciousness.