Chapter 669: Ice Cloud Immortal Shadow

Although Yun Che and Ye Xinghan had only met once, Ye Xinghan's actions during the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament and on the Primordial Profound Ark had been enough for Yun Che to discern his true character. Yun Che knew that upon learning of his survival, Ye Xinghan would very likely rush to kill him immediately—and would do so personally!

Having just resolved the crises plaguing Cangfeng Imperial City and the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, a greater danger was now approaching. After surveying the seemingly calm Ice Cloud Immortal Palace from above, he let out a long breath, summoned the Primordial Profound Ark, and returned to Cangfeng Imperial City.

What he didn't realize was that high above, a pair of beautiful, ice-crystal eyes had been silently watching him. Only after he departed did those eyes finally retract their gaze. Her face, shrouded in an icy mist, rippled faintly. Dressed in white, she appeared ethereal, like a celestial being, and the ice spirits swirling around her body were clearer and purer than the most flawless crystal in existence.

"Master, the fate of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace turned out completely differently than we expected," the blue-clad girl beside her remarked. Her voice was filled with joy, for she knew that despite the white-clad woman's vows, she still couldn't entirely let go of her concerns, or she wouldn't have risked coming here again today. "Still, the Palace Master of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace actually turned out to be a man... even if he did resolve the danger, and it was somewhat unavoidable, it just feels a bit... odd."

"If he can truly enable the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace to safely overcome this calamity, what does it matter if he's a man or a woman?" the white-clad woman said softly. "Both the Ice Cloud Art and the Ice Phoenix Divine Art can be cultivated by men. The Ice Cloud Immortal Palace's rule of only accepting female disciples is merely a form of self-protection."

"It just feels strange, that's all. All the men in our Snow Song Realm, except for Senior Brother Hanyi, are utterly detestable." The blue-clad girl pursed her soft, pink lips, then asked curiously, "Master, you were just staring at that person named Yun Che. Is there anything unusual about him?"

"..." The white-clad woman slightly shifted her gaze. "He cultivates the Ice Phoenix Divine Art and has reached the sixth stage, yet he can also ignite the Golden Crow Divine Flame. Ice and fire coexist within the same body—specifically, the extremely cold Ice Phoenix power and the violent Golden Crow flames—yet his profound energy is incredibly stable, showing no signs of internal conflict... It's highly unusual."

The white-clad woman's crescent brows furrowed slightly... she seemed to be grappling with something she couldn't understand. At her level, there were very few things in this world that could baffle her.

"Huh? The fire he used to burn that purple-robed man was really the Golden Crow Divine Flame? I thought I was mistaken." The blue-clad girl looked surprised. "So, there's actually a Golden Crow inheritance on this continent? Hmm... if the Golden Crow Sect of the Flame God Realm knew about this, they'd definitely send people here immediately."

"..." The white-clad woman remained silent.

"Master, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly become so serious?" the blue-clad girl asked, looking at her.

"..." The white-clad woman closed her eyes slightly, seemingly trying to concentrate. "Do you feel... someone is watching us from somewhere?"

"Huh?" The blue-clad girl's mouth fell open, then she immediately shook her head. "How could that be... How could anyone on this plane possibly detect our presence? Master, you must be imagining things."

"..." A moment later, the white-clad woman's eyes slowly opened, and she said softly, "Perhaps..."

Just then, the ice spirits around her body suddenly became chaotic. Her ethereal form, veiled in icy mist, trembled violently, and a mouthful of bright red blood unexpectedly gushed from her lips, staining a large section of her cloud-white sleeve.

"Master!!" the blue-clad girl exclaimed, hastily supporting the white-clad woman. In alarm, she stammered, "How... how could this be... Didn't it just flare up half a month ago... Why so soon again...?"

With a light sweep of her sleeve, an icy radiance instantly appeared, making all traces of blood vanish. However, beneath the icy mist, her face had gained an unusual pallor, and even the dance of the ice spirits became erratic. The white-clad woman steadied her breath, her voice still as faint as smoke: "My life source is damaged beyond repair. To have lingered for a thousand years is already a blessing from fate; there is no need for sorrow or resentment."

Her words implied that she was beginning to feel the approach of her end. Tears instantly welled up in the blue-clad girl's eyes. "No... Master, you can't just accept this fate... You were so severely injured a thousand years ago, and the Realm King had a solution... This time... the Realm King will surely have a way too... Or... I'll... I'll go beg the Flame God Realm..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" the white-clad woman gently reprimanded. In the mere dozen breaths since she had spat blood, her profound energy aura had weakened by more than half. Glancing at the boundless snowfields below, she sighed softly and said, "Let's go. The air here is turbid and will rapidly worsen my injuries..."

"I thought I had completely severed ties, but ultimately... it's like my child, after all... Perhaps it won't be long before I can't resist coming back again."

She took the blue-clad girl's arm, and her body slowly ascended until they vanished into a profound formation that had appeared without a sound.

As the profound formation vanished, a young girl with blood-red, waist-length hair and eyes that glowed with an eerie light slowly materialized at the spot where they had stood.

"The Snow Song Realm?" The girl let out an extremely low, cold snort. "Hmph! No wonder the Ice Phoenix Divine Art always felt vaguely familiar... So it's the 'Ice Phoenix Conferred God Canon' without the Ice Phoenix soul!"

"How truly interesting," she chuckled softly, a hint of playfulness in her voice. Then, her body shimmered into an illusion and completely vanished from the spot.

The moment he appeared above Cangfeng Imperial City, a strange energy fluctuation instantly made Yun Che's brows furrow. His gaze swept south... On the land he had previously destroyed with "Netherworld Ash," even deeper marks of destruction had appeared. The already significantly sunken ground now bore a new, deep crater spanning over a dozen miles! Although it seemed a long time had passed, an extremely high-level profound energy aura still lingered within the crater.

That seemed... to be the aura of the Sovereign Profound Realm!

"Imperial Son-in-Law! You're back!" On the city wall, Feng Yunlie, injured but still holding the front line, cried out in surprise and excitement upon seeing Yun Che. The surrounding Cangfeng soldiers also looked up, their gazes trembling with excitement... as if they were gazing upon a deity.

Yun Che descended from the air and asked, "General Feng, what happened over there? What occurred during my absence?"

Feng Yunlie quickly replied, "About half an hour after Imperial Son-in-Law departed, another Divine Phoenix army approached at extremely high speed from the southwest, bringing a large number of fiery war steeds and flying profound beasts..."

"What?" Yun Che's brows furrowed. "Why didn't you send me a sound transmission?"

"At that time, His Majesty tried to send sound transmissions to Imperial Son-in-Law multiple times, but each attempt failed," Feng Yunlie explained. "Lord Tianxia speculated that Imperial Son-in-Law might have been in a place with an isolation barrier, which prevented him from receiving transmissions..."

Sound transmission failed... an isolation barrier? Yun Che was startled for a moment, then instantly recalled the Ice Cloud Secret Realm, where he and the Ice Cloud disciples had stayed for a full hour—a place where the past Masters of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace rested in peace. Could it be...?

"But Imperial Son-in-Law Yun doesn't need to worry," Feng Yunlie said excitedly. "Just as that Divine Phoenix army was about to attack, an incredibly powerful hero appeared—almost as strong as Imperial Son-in-Law himself—and this hero was also..."

Bang!!

Something was violently smashed open, and then a voice Yun Che was incredibly familiar with—rough and deep, yet clearly tearful—rang out: "Bro... Brother-in-law... Brother-in-law!!"

It was Xia Yuanba's voice; in this world, only Xia Yuanba would address him as "Brother-in-law." Yun Che's heart suddenly stirred. He turned around to face the figure rushing towards him... Before he could even feel excited, he was utterly startled.

Because the already massive Xia Yuanba... was now an entire circle larger than he had been three years ago, causing Yun Che's eyes to twitch in surprise.

Boom!!

In "shock," Yun Che instinctively sidestepped, and Xia Yuanba lunged into empty air. With a tremendous crash, he directly smashed the corner tower to pieces. Xia Yuanba turned around and burst into loud sobs: "Brother-in-law! You're really not dead... This is wonderful... Senior Sister Xueruo said you're back... I... I... I thought I'd never see you again..."

"My life is so tough; how could I die so easily?" Yun Che said with a smile, looking at the even larger Xia Yuanba. He walked over and patted his arm... The muscles he touched were as hard as refined steel. "Yuanba, it's been three years, and you've... grown even more. Alright, stop crying. From now on, as long as you don't see my corpse, don't believe I'm dead."

"I... I... Mm!" Xia Yuanba vigorously wiped away his tears, then grinned, nodding quickly and laughing with all his might: "Right... I shouldn't cry! Brother-in-law is perfectly fine, nothing is wrong with him; I should be laughing. I should have known all along that Brother-in-law is the toughest person in this world... how could he die so easily?"

Cang Yue, Tianxia Diyi, Xiao Yun, and Tianxia Qiyi had also emerged. They watched Xia Yuanba, who possessed terrifying strength, had obliterated the Divine Phoenix army with a single punch, and radiated awe-inspiring pressure, yet was now crying like a child in front of Yun Che, then both crying and laughing because of a single sentence from him. The sheer contrast left Xiao Yun and the other two utterly dumbfounded.

Cang Yue glanced at their expressions and smiled. "My husband and Yuanba grew up together; they are extremely important family to each other. Their bond is so deep it's enviable... No matter how powerful they become or how high their status rises, that will never change."

Compared to Xia Yuanba's change in appearance, what shocked Yun Che more was undoubtedly the change in his aura. The profound energy emanating from Xia Yuanba was so immense that Yun Che could scarcely believe it. He stared at Xia Yuanba and asked, "Yuanba, what's your current profound strength... what level is it?"

"Well..." Xia Yuanba chuckled awkwardly. "Brother-in-law might not believe it if I say it, but I seem to have reached... Sovereign Profound Realm Level Six." After saying that, he quickly added, "It's true, I'm absolutely not lying to Brother-in-law!"

"He's indeed not lying to you," Jasmine immediately added. "His current profound strength realm is truly Sovereign Profound Realm Level Six!"

Yun Che: "!"

In Demon Imperial City of the Illusory Demon Realm, Yun Che had encountered many Demon Emperors and was thus well aware of the concept of the "Sovereign Profound Realm." He understood the immense difference between each level of the Tyrannical Profound Realm and the vast chasm separating even minor realms within the Sovereign Profound Realm. A Tyrannical Emperor Pellet, capable of helping someone break through the King Profound bottleneck to become a Tyrannical Emperor, was considered a treasure-grade elixir even in Demon Imperial City. The breakthrough from the Tyrannical Profound to the Sovereign Profound Realm was even more "difficult as ascending to heaven," beyond ordinary imagination...

And Xia Yuanba, in just three short years, had jumped from the mid-Tyrannical Profound Realm... to the mid-Sovereign Profound Realm!

Such a growth rate was beyond comprehension, even a thousand "unbelievables" wouldn't suffice to describe it. If figures like the Holy Land Masters knew, they would likely be so jealous they'd vomit blood.

Looking at Yun Che's dumbfounded expression, Xia Yuanba said weakly, "I didn't expect my profound strength to increase so quickly either. Master said it's because of the Tyrannical Emperor Divine Veins... I only slowly realized how truly powerful the Tyrannical Emperor Divine Veins are."

"..." Yun Che's mouth twitched, and he murmured telepathically, "Jasmine, you once said that in ancient times, the Tyrannical Emperor Divine Veins belonged to the War God's profound veins..."

Jasmine: "??"

"You also said that the Heretic God and the Sky Poison God were transcendental beings among the ancient gods... But I have the Heretic God's profound veins, the Sky Poison God's divine art, and even Dragon God's blood, marrow, and soul, along with Phoenix and Golden Crow bloodlines... Over these past few years, I've endured utterly brutal spatial storms and absorbed immense power within the Sea of Death's Flames... I always felt my growth rate was defying heaven itself!!"

"But now I feel like the Heretic God and Sky Poison God are... practically trash compared to Yuanba's Tyrannical Emperor Divine Veins!!" Yun Che said, somewhat gritting his teeth. Xia Yuanba's terrifying and unparalleled growth rate... even he couldn't help but feel jealous.