Chapter 650: The Disaster of National Destruction

"New Moon City..." Sikong Du softly murmured the name, a place where he was born and grew up, a name that should have been the most familiar in his life. Yet, his voice was filled with sorrow and desolation: "There is no New Moon City anymore... New Moon City is long gone... The entire Azure Cloud Nation is about to be finished too!"

Yun Che's breathing suddenly became heavy. He forced himself to calm down, squatted, and grabbed Sikong Du's shoulders, asking, "What exactly happened? In the three years since I left... what has happened to the Azure Cloud Nation?"

"It's the Divine Phoenix Empire!!" The young man to Sikong Du's right gritted his teeth and said, "Three years ago, the Divine Phoenix Empire suddenly descended with a massive army, breaking through Southern Sky City overnight. In less than half a month, they occupied the entire Southern Sky Region... There was no declaration of war, no warning, no explanation, and no reason! All the envoys we sent were directly executed... After that, the Divine Phoenix army continuously increased, reaching several million strong... invading and trampling our Azure Cloud lands like a pack of rabid dogs... New Moon City fell over a year ago..."

"Wh-what?" Yun Che's hands suddenly clenched. He shook his head hard, forcing himself to calm down, and said in a deep voice, "Why did the Divine Phoenix Empire suddenly invade? Three years ago... that was basically when I left! The Divine Phoenix Imperial Family should be well aware that what happened to me on the Primordial Profound Ark was to save their Phoenix God Sect's Princess Snow! Princess Snow is not just a princess in the Divine Phoenix Empire; she is an existence of paramount importance, and I am the Azure Cloud Imperial Family's son-in-law... Even if they weren't grateful or didn't offer lavish thanks and repayment for this, what right did they have to invade?!"

Sikong Du gave a bitter laugh. "You 'perished' in the Primordial Profound Ark saving the Divine Phoenix Empire's Princess Snow. This became known throughout the world shortly after your incident. Anyone with an ounce of conscience should remember that great life-saving favor... But the Divine Phoenix Nation... they don't even possess the most basic humanity! Gratitude? What a huge joke! They not only invaded our Azure Cloud lands but also destroyed our cities and slaughtered our Azure Cloud citizens... They are simply a pack of rabid dogs, a group of devils!"

The grief, indignation, and hatred in Sikong Du's voice were so profound that merely hearing them was gut-wrenching. The sixteen young men around them were also filled with resentment, their teeth clenched. Yun Che composed himself and said in a gloomy voice, "Warfare on the Profound Sky Continent... has always been predicated on not harming civilians! This is the most basic humanity! The Divine Phoenix Empire, as the greatest nation in Profound Sky and inheritor of the Phoenix power... how could they do such a thing!"

"I can't understand it... I just can't understand it!" Sikong Du's voice sounded like a wail. He tremblingly extended a finger, pointing forward: "Yun Che... look, look with your own eyes! This place was once the New Moon Forest, spanning two hundred miles, and the New Moon Profound Palace often used it as an assessment ground. But now... there's no New Moon Forest left! To break through our defenses as quickly as possible, they directly incinerated all two hundred miles of the New Moon Forest with Phoenix flames... leaving not a single blade of grass!"

Yun Che: "..."

"And... our New Moon City." Sikong Du's finger pointed west, his eyes brimming with tears: "They breached the city gates and stormed into the city... To take New Moon City as quickly as possible, they even set the city ablaze... and what burned it... was their Divine Phoenix Empire's Phoenix flames! Forty percent of New Moon City's districts were burned to ashes... a full forty percent! Over a million New Moon citizens died beneath those Phoenix flames! Countless more died by their swords... Those who resisted died, those who refused to kneel died, those with profound energy died... In less than three short years, tens of millions of our Azure Cloud citizens have perished under the feet of those Divine Phoenix dogs... tens of millions!"

Sikong Du's voice grew more and more shrill, every word filled with soul-piercing hatred. Under his mournful cries, the sixteen young men around them were already in tears. One young man on the left slowly said, "We are all disciples of the New Moon Profound Palace... but now, New Moon City is ruined, and the New Moon Profound Palace is gone. Instructor Situ's father, Instructor Sikong Han, sacrificed himself to buy us time to escape... and now... we haven't even been able to find his remains."

"We have no homes, no families left... Our only purpose in life is to follow Instructor Sikong and kill every last one of those Divine Phoenix dogs!" The speaking youth appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, but his eyes held a resolve and... hatred that belied his age.

"The Divine Phoenix army is too powerful, and our cultivation is too weak. We can't confront them head-on, so we can only wander around New Moon City, ambushing isolated Divine Phoenix soldiers... killing as many as we can. A moment ago, from a distance, we vaguely saw golden flame patterns on your body and thought you were part of the Divine Phoenix army, which is why we attacked."

Yun Che's hands slowly unclenched from Sikong Du, his gaze momentarily distant. He looked at the people around Sikong Du... The oldest among them were just over twenty, and the youngest were only sixteen or seventeen. Their clothes were tattered and covered in blood, and their bodies were covered in wounds. One person even had nearly a third of their body wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

During his time in the Illusory Demon Realm, although his heart yearned to return, he hadn't subconsciously worried much about the safety of those he cared about. He had thought that in the Azure Cloud Nation, the Imperial Family would protect them, and even if something did happen, with his status as a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, Xia Qingyue wouldn't disregard their marital bond, and the Frozen Cloud Asgard would surely offer protection.

He believed that the Phoenix God Sect, with whom he had grievances, would no longer harbor animosity but only gratitude because he had risked his life to save Feng Xue'er. As for Ye Xinghan, whom he had completely offended... his death would be the outcome Ye Xinghan most desired, so he wouldn't vent his anger on those close to Yun Che after his demise.

But he never dreamed that the Azure Cloud Nation, which he had longed for day and night and returned to with infinite joy, would be met with such a scene of desolation and ruin.

Burning cities... destruction... slaughter... tens of millions of Azure Cloud people dead...

Every word, every number, felt like it had just been pulled from a purgatorial blood pool, writhing with crimson blood.

Why... why did the Divine Phoenix Empire do this... It shouldn't be like this... This shouldn't have happened!

His heart began to pound violently. Even when he was cornered by the Ming King in the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, his emotions had not been this chaotic. He took several deep breaths, then asked in as calm a voice as possible, "Senior Brother Sikong... what is the situation in the Azure Cloud Nation now? Is the Azure Cloud Imperial City safe?"

Sikong Du coughed violently for a moment, then said agonizingly, "The invasion by those Divine Phoenix mad dogs has been terrifying. To swallow our Azure Cloud Nation in the shortest possible time, they not only deployed immense military might but also resorted to unscrupulous means... If Her Majesty the Empress hadn't been so wise and decisive, establishing seven brilliant defensive lines to resist them for so long with forces several times weaker than theirs, the Azure Cloud Nation would probably have already..."

"Her Majesty the Empress? What do you mean, Her Majesty the Empress?!" Yun Che's mind reeled, his pupils contracting for an instant. He seized Sikong Du's collar and growled, "Where is my Imperial Father... Why is it 'Her Majesty the Empress'?"

"The late Emperor..." Sikong Du gave a bitter smile. "The late Emperor was assassinated and killed just two months after those Divine Phoenix dogs invaded."

Yun Che's hand weakly released, his eyes hollow. His body swayed, and he staggered backward.

"Brother!""Brother Yun!"

Xiao Yun and Tianxia Qiyi rushed forward to support him. The moment they touched him, they distinctly felt Yun Che's entire body was ice-cold. They knew little about the Profound Sky Continent, let alone had any emotional attachment to it, yet merely hearing Sikong Du's description had deeply shocked them. Yun Che, in their eyes, had always been the most trustworthy, dependable, and even omnipotent person, one who wouldn't bat an eye even if the sky fell... It was clear how profound the impact of these events was on him.

"I... I'm fine." Yun Che gently pulled his hands free from Xiao Yun and Tianxia Qiyi. He tilted his head back, taking deep breaths. But his tightly clenched hands continued to tremble uncontrollably.

"Empress Cang Yue is truly remarkable!" The young man to Sikong Du's right couldn't help but say, his eyes filled with deep respect and admiration: "When the late Emperor was assassinated, none of those useless princes wanted to be the ruler of a dying nation; they were even more afraid of being assassinated like the late Emperor. Not one dared to inherit the throne. It was Empress Cang Yue who voluntarily took on this heavy burden. At first, we thought that having a princess as Emperor would only hasten the Azure Cloud Nation's demise. But Empress Cang Yue is truly more amazing than the late Emperor. Although she is in the Imperial City, she knows almost every part of the Azure Cloud Nation like the back of her hand, always able to utilize terrain advantages to form the most perfect defensive lines... And she completely lacks the indecisiveness common in women, making swift decisions to abandon and consolidate defenses... Especially the battle at Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, Her Majesty the Empress had people prepare large quantities of beast-attracting incense well in advance, drawing countless profound beasts from the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range to attack those Divine Phoenix dogs... That defensive line held them back for several months!"

"...Yue'er." Yun Che's eyes blurred as he softly murmured. Before he met Cang Yue, she had already traveled through many profound palaces and major cities, setting foot in numerous regions of the Azure Cloud Nation, and it was during her stay in New Moon City that they met. So, she indeed knew the terrain and geographical advantages of these areas by heart. And the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range... that was where they had faced adversity together and developed feelings for each other. It was home to countless profound beasts, and they had also encountered a vicious bandit group there... The reason that bandit group could enter the heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range was with the help of a very unique beast-repelling incense. She must have been inspired by that to think of beast-attracting incense...

But... my Yue'er, you actually bore the immense pressure and tyranny of the Divine Phoenix Empire on your slender shoulders... enduring for the entire Azure Cloud Nation for three whole years... How much suffering, how much exhaustion, how much heartbreak, how many tears must you have shed during these three years...

Yun Che's heart ached as if being cut by knives. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and asked in a low voice, "My Imperial Father... why was he assassinated...? Didn't Sky Profound Sword Villa exist? With the Divine Phoenix Nation invading like this, according to the ancestral oath, even if Sky Profound Sword Villa didn't fully assist, they should at least have done their utmost to ensure my Imperial Father's safety. Sky Profound Sword Villa has the Heavenly Sovereign Sword Region as its backing; with their protection, the Divine Phoenix Empire shouldn't have been able to forcibly take my Imperial Father's life!"

"Sky Profound Sword Villa?" Sikong Du gave a disdainful, faint laugh. "That was once a place I admired immensely, but... this Divine Phoenix invasion not only trampled our lands but also committed monstrous crimes that provoke indignation from both gods and men. At this critical juncture, when our nation is on the verge of collapse, Sky Profound Sword Villa not only failed to lead the Azure Cloud Profound practitioners in resistance, but instead sealed off their villa, completely ignoring everything!"

"Rumor has it that the Imperial Family sought help from Sky Profound Sword Villa nine times in succession, but the Villa ignored all pleas, and it remains so to this day! Heh... Yes, Sky Profound Sword Villa possesses immense power and backing; those Divine Phoenix mad dogs haven't even approached the Sky Profound Mountain Range. But have they forgotten that they are people of the Azure Cloud Nation, that their feet stand on Azure Cloud soil, and that Azure Cloud blood flows in their veins?! The dignified top power of the Azure Cloud Nation, once an existence that could only be looked up to... has actually turned out to be nothing more than a group of cowardly, faithless betrayers! They're not even as good as us!"

Yun Che's teeth clenched together tightly, almost shattering.

"The Imperial Family also sought aid from the other five nations, but none of them responded... Later, we heard that those Divine Phoenix dogs had separately signed long-term non-aggression treaties with those five nations before invading our Azure Cloud Nation," said a youth with a heavily injured right arm, gritting his teeth.

"Now, the Azure Cloud Imperial City should also be close to falling. We can only hope... that Her Majesty the Empress manages to escape safely."

"What did you say!?" Yun Che's body flickered, and in an instant, he was in front of that person: "Azure Cloud Imperial City... fallen?"

Yun Che's expression at that moment was terrifying, and coupled with his suddenly unrestrained aura, it sent the young man opposite him stumbling back in choking alarm. With a frightened look, he said, "We received news this morning... Just yesterday... around this time yesterday, seven hundred thousand Divine Phoenix troops had already reached the Imperial City, and Divine Phoenix armies from other regions were also converging at full speed towards the Imperial City... A full day has passed, so I'm afraid the Imperial City has already... already..."

It was as if something exploded in Yun Che's mind. He clenched his teeth tightly, steadying himself: *Calm down... calm down... I must calm down!!*

Yun Che reached into the Sky Poison Pearl, taking out a dozen pale green pills and placing them in Sikong Du's hand: "Senior Brother Sikong, take one of these pills each. They can quickly heal your injuries and also elevate your profound energy by at least one major realm."

The emerald green pills were small, but upon smelling their aura, Sikong Du and the others suddenly felt a clarity throughout their bodies, as if their souls were purified in an instant. Even long-standing bottlenecks in their cultivation showed noticeable signs of loosening... Just the mere scent had such an effect; they instantly believed, in shock, that the miraculousness of these pills far surpassed anything they had ever seen, even going beyond their understanding.

Sikong Du, somewhat dazed, took the pills. Just as he was about to speak, he realized Yun Che had vanished from his sight... A fierce gust of wind rapidly receded into the distance.

"Brother!""Let's go!" Tianxia Diyi simultaneously grabbed Xiao Yun and Tianxia Qiyi, his profound energy surging, and pursued Yun Che.

After sprinting ten miles in the blink of an eye, Yun Che slightly slowed down. He summoned the Primordial Profound Ark, took Tianxia Diyi and the others inside, then calculated the approximate direction and distance to the Azure Cloud Imperial City. With a violent tremor of space, the Primordial Profound Ark tore through dimensions and vanished into the spatial rift.