Chapter 656: Blood Massacre

"Yun Che? Which... which Yun Che?"

"The Imperial Son-in-Law of the Blue Wind Empire... the one who single-handedly challenged my Divine Phoenix Sect back then... who else could it be?!" Feng Feiheng hissed.

"But wasn't he buried in the Primordial Profound Ark three years ago?!" Qi Zhencang and Duan Qinghang looked utterly disbelieving. "Besides, back then Yun Che's profound strength realm was Earth Profound, his power comparable to the late stage of Emperor Profound... but this person's power is such that even Elder Forty-Three could not even withstand."

"I want to know why more than you do!" Feng Feiheng roared, gritting his teeth, his pupils still dilated. "But he is that Yun Che... there's no mistake!!"

"...What should we do now? If he really is an Emperor..."

"Retreat!! Of course, retreat!" Feng Feiheng roared in a deep voice. "Do you naively believe that hundreds of thousands of soldiers can contend with someone at the Emperor Profound Realm?!"

Originally, he had prepared to bravely negotiate with this suddenly appearing terrifying Emperor, leveraging his identity as a Phoenix Elder and the prestige of the Divine Phoenix Sect. But upon realizing this person was none other than Yun Che, he instantly abandoned any such thought. Three years ago, Yun Che dared to face the entire Divine Phoenix Sect alone on their territory. Even when confronted by the Phoenix Sect Master and various Phoenix Elders, he did not lose an ounce of his imposing aura.

His talent and strength were exceptionally powerful, and his character was unbelievably unyielding and resolute, pushed to the extreme. If Yun Che, back when he was only at the Earth Profound Realm, dared to face the Divine Phoenix Sect alone, how could he now, in his current state, fear the Divine Phoenix Sect's reputation like an ordinary person would?! What's more, the aura of hatred he was radiating made heaven and earth tremble!

Qi Zhencang's face twitched, but he unhesitatingly picked up his sound transmission jade and roared, "All forces retreat... Full speed retreat!!"

Qi Zhencang's urgent order stunned most of the commanders on the spot; they almost thought their ears were playing tricks on them. Various questioning voices were transmitted back to Qi Zhencang: "Retreat... retreat? Just because of this... one person?"

"You bastards!!" Qi Zhencang roared furiously. "He's not just one person... he's an Emperor! An Emperor!! Elder Forty-Three just died at his hands without any resistance! Are your eyes blind?! All forces retreat... retreat as fast as possible right now!!"

Before Qi Zhencang could put down his sound transmission jade, he suddenly felt a chill run through him. He instinctively looked up and saw the golden figure slowly descending from the city wall... An aura of fury, hatred, and ferocity suddenly pressed down on his spirit, causing the blood in his entire body to instantly cease flowing under the extreme pressure. Across the entire battlefield, the six hundred thousand Divine Phoenix army and the dwindling Blue Wind army, now less than fifty thousand, all felt an abrupt chill at that same moment... Even Number One Under Heaven showed deep shock and terror on his face.

This was the first time Yun Che, on the Profound Sky Continent, had unleashed his full killing intent without reservation, completely and utterly. It was so intense it felt substantial, so violent that it made everyone's hair stand on end, chilling their bodies and souls as if they were submerged in a freezing pond.

"All of you... die!!"

Red light flashed in Yun Che's hand, and the Heaven Smiting Sword emerged, sweeping forward.

Boom!!!

With just a single, unembellished sweep of his sword, without using any profound art, Yun Che unleashed a colossal roar that sounded like the heavens collapsing and the earth tearing apart. The ground directly in front of him completely shattered, and amidst the swirling dust, thousands of Divine Phoenix soldiers were instantly blasted away by the incomparably powerful profound energy storm. Before they could even utter a desperate scream, they had already transformed into crimson blood blossoms, their severed limbs and minced flesh splattering and blooming grotesquely in the air. The vast land was quickly stained red with dazzling blood.

With just one sword strike, three thousand Divine Phoenix soldiers... were utterly annihilated!!

Even though Qi Zhencang and others in the central army were far away, this scene still terrified him to his core, nearly shaking his soul apart. Clenching his sound transmission jade, he roared with all his might, "Retreat... all forces... Aaahhh!!"

Amidst Qi Zhencang's cries, which were now tens of times more panicked, Yun Che's figure approached at an incredible speed in his eyes. The massive vermilion sword in his hand, radiating crimson profound light and an indescribably violent aura, slammed into the Divine Phoenix army, who had not yet recovered from the previous scene.

Boom!!!!

A thunderous roar, like a profound heavenly thunderbolt shaking the world, completely deafened everyone. Instantly, the light became exceptionally dim... it wasn't dark clouds suddenly appearing in the sky, but the entire surrounding area, spanning several miles, being completely ripped up. Hundreds of thousands of Divine Phoenix soldiers, carried by the earth, were hurled a thousand zhang into the sky. For a moment, heaven and earth seemed utterly inverted; the ground collapsed amidst cracks, and the sky was filled with dark soil and the terrified screams of the Divine Phoenix army. But these screams lasted only a fleeting moment, as their bodies were utterly pulverized in the exceedingly violent heavy sword storm, reduced to particles finer than dust.

Swoosh...

The vast expanse of sand and dust rained down, a dark pall, but none of the nearly one hundred thousand Divine Phoenix soldiers who had been flung up returned to the ground... because what fell were only extremely fine fragments of flesh and blood. Not even a single corpse, nor even a recognizable finger, could be seen.

When the uplifted earth finally settled back down, its color was no longer grayish-yellow but a shocking dark red, mixed with countless shattered crimson armor pieces and weapons. Above the ground, streaks of spatial cracks twisted with a "hissing" sound under the lingering power of the heavy sword.

The enormous battlefield, in an instant... truly, just an instant, transformed into a bloody purgatory of fear, screams, and wails. The dead were annihilated, leaving no intact bodies, while the living trembled, shrieked, and felt their hearts burst from terror... Countless Divine Phoenix soldiers who hadn't been caught in the blast collapsed to the ground, their pupils constricted in fear. They couldn't even stand, their souls utterly detached from their bodies due to the sheer horror.

Suffocation, extreme suppression and suffocation. The Blue Wind soldiers at the city gate all stood with wide, staring eyes, as if dreaming. Their deeply hated Divine Phoenix army had been instantly obliterated in vast numbers; they should have been excited... but the sight before them subjected them to a shock and terror nearly equal to that of the Divine Phoenix army. Even Feng Yunlie, who had long since accepted death, stood with wide, staring eyes, unable to recover for a long time.

Xiao Yun watched the blood rain falling from the sky, the endless shattered corpses, and the ground instantly stained red. Though he had made a great resolve, his body swayed, and he suddenly turned away, pressing his hands tightly over his paper-white face. "I can't do it... I really can't..."

Number Seven Under Heaven quickly embraced him and comforted him, saying, "It's okay... it's perfectly fine. The Big Brother Yun I like is kind enough not to even harm a small animal. If you really became like Big Brother Yun, I... I would be afraid. So... it's really okay."

Number One Under Heaven's face had also turned incredibly pale. He looked away, not daring to gaze at the blood-stained battlefield, and murmured, "In this world... there's actually such terrifying killing intent... *Gasp*..."

As army commanders, Duan Qinghang and Qi Zhencang, who had mostly been in the central command, had never witnessed the true might of an Emperor Profound practitioner. They watched helplessly as one hundred thousand soldiers... a full one hundred thousand soldiers, all met their demise with a single swing of Yun Che's sword... just one sword, and all were dead!!

Even a sliver of a chance to struggle or resist was absent... Not even intact bodies, or a burial ground, remained!!

The Divine Phoenix army, capable of conquering the world, sweeping across the six nations, equipped with the highest-grade gear and possessing top-tier talent in the Profound Sky Continent, was utterly insignificant before this person—not even comparable to a swarm of ants!!

Even though they were battle-hardened and their hearts were like stone, their spirits shattered at this moment... Qi Zhencang stumbled backward in terror, then collapsed to the ground, frantically roaring, "Retreat... Quick, retreat!!"

Qi Zhencang's roar almost tore his throat. The Divine Phoenix soldiers, trembling in fear, also awoke as if from a nightmare, letting out strange shrieks and frantically fleeing backward... Once their psychological defense line collapsed and even their commanders were utterly terrified, these hundreds of thousands of Divine Phoenix soldiers no longer cared about military discipline. Each one scattered like a headless fly, desperate to escape as quickly as possible from the terrifying demon who had descended from the sky. In the blink of an eye, they were utterly routed, and countless lives were lost in the stampede.

But Yun Che, consumed by hatred and with his killing intent out of control, would not stop because of their rout. His eyes blazing red, he ascended into the sky. The Golden Crow flames rapidly condensed in the air, swelling to tens of zhang in moments, looking from afar like another crimson sun had appeared in the sky.

"Blazing Sun Detonation!!"

The crimson "sun" high in the sky exploded, scattering destructive flames across the heavens. These were Golden Crow flames, flames of destruction so potent that even Phoenix Elder Feng Fei'ying would die instantly upon contact. How could ordinary Divine Phoenix soldiers withstand them? The crimson flames descended, covering the sky. Every Divine Phoenix soldier touched by the flames was instantly consumed by scarlet fire, turning into piles of charcoal... or even directly incinerated into nothingness.

Screams, wails, roars, terror, and the sounds of burning... wove together above the battlefield, forming a terrifying and unparalleled funeral dirge from hell.

As the "invincible" Divine Phoenix army, they had swept across the Blue Wind Empire, reaching the imperial city's gates. Taking the Blue Wind Imperial City should have been as easy as picking something from a pocket. They never dreamed they would encounter such a powerful, yet utterly merciless, devil. Feng Feiheng's Phoenix profound energy circulated furiously throughout his body, his speed reaching its absolute limit. The sounds in his ears made him feel as if he were in a nightmare. Just then, he suddenly felt a chill run through him. Instinctively, he looked back and was horrified to see Yun Che less than ten zhang behind him.

Feng Feiheng's pupils suddenly dilated. With a fierce bite of his teeth, he unleashed "Phoenix Flame Burning Heaven," directing his full Phoenix flames towards Yun Che.

Yun Che's expression was as grim as a death god from hell. Facing Feng Feiheng's attack, he casually flicked the Heaven Smiting Sword in his hand... Feng Feiheng's powerful Phoenix flames instantly shattered into scattered sparks upon contact with the heavy sword's power. The profound energy storm stirred up by the heavy sword remained almost entirely unaffected, and with a whistling sound, it violently struck Feng Feiheng directly in the chest.

Bang!!

Feng Feiheng spat out three mouthfuls of blood, one after another, and tumbled to the ground. Before he could even get back on his feet, Yun Che grabbed him by the collar, lifting him. A chilling sensation of death emanated from behind.

"I... I am Feng Feiheng... an Elder of the Divine Phoenix Sect, number nineteen... You cannot kill me..." Every muscle and nerve in Feng Feiheng's body trembled violently. "Otherwise... otherwise, the Divine Phoenix Sect will not let you go... Ugh, aaahhh!!"

Boom!!!

Amidst Feng Feiheng's desperate and agonizing screams, a ball of flames exploded on his back, turning the Divine Phoenix Elder, who had been arrogant for half his life, into scattered fragments of fire.