Chapter 671: Four Great Elders

As a profound practitioner's cultivation of profound energy increases, so does their movement speed. Especially upon reaching the Sky Profound Realm, where one can traverse the void with profound energy, their flight speed becomes astonishingly fast, yet it still cannot compare to the speed of a profound ark. Even at supreme realms like the Tyrant Profound and Sovereign Profound, while one's top speed can surpass most profound arks, it still falls short of some top-tier profound arks.

Examples include the Heavenly Saint Divine Ark of the Imperial Extreme Sacred Ground and the Sun Moon Saint Ark of the Sun Moon Divine Hall.

However, when a profound ark flies at its maximum speed, it consumes a large amount of high-grade profound crystals. The higher the grade of the profound ark, the faster it flies, and the higher the quality of profound crystals required, leading to faster consumption. Therefore, even entities at the level of the Four Sacred Grounds would not readily deploy high-grade profound arks unless there was an urgent matter. At this moment, thousands of feet above the ground, the Sun Moon Divine Ark was streaking through the sky. It was about a hundred feet long, entirely silver-white, with a blazing sun emblem engraved on its left side and a crescent moon image inlaid on its right. Its flying speed far exceeded ordinary human comprehension; profound practitioners below could only hear an extremely piercing sound of air being torn apart. Even if they looked up immediately, they wouldn't see a trace of its afterimage, only scattered clouds across the sky and persistent spatial ripples.

Inside the Sun Moon Saint Ark, Ye Xinghan's face was ashen, and his gaze was chilling. By now, his mind had sobered. He knew that using the Sun Moon Saint Ark for Yun Che was overly impulsive and would surely lead to punishment from his father, but he absolutely did not regret this impulsive act.

Besides Ye Xinghan, there were nineteen other individuals inside the Sun Moon Saint Ark. Fifteen of them were Ye Xinghan's personal guardians, all at the Tyrant Profound Realm, with the strongest having reached the ninth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm. As for the other four... they stood beside Ye Xinghan, each radiating an unangered authority. Their auras were as immense as towering mountains. The fifteen Tyrant Emperors, despite their immense profound energy and high status as Ye Xinghan's guardians within the Sun Moon Divine Hall, looked at these four with profound reverence in their eyes. This was because all four of them were elders of the Sun Moon Divine Hall! And a primary condition for being an elder of the Sun Moon Divine Hall was to have attained the Sovereign Monarch Realm! Furthermore, these four were not just elders; they were all ranked among the top twenty, with one even among the top ten: Eleventh Elder Ye Juanyun, Fifteenth Elder Ye Shi, Seventeenth Elder Ye Xiaoran, and Ninth Elder Ye Guying, whose profound energy was nearing the late Sovereign Monarch Realm, having reached the seventh level of the Sovereign Profound Realm!

"For a mere Yun Che to infuriate the Young Master to such an extent, the Young Master thinks too highly of him," Fifteenth Elder Ye Shi remarked flatly, seeing Ye Xinghan's expression begin to calm from his initial rage. The name "Yun Che" was not unfamiliar to him. After all, three years ago, his feat of single-handedly defeating the ten top young geniuses of the Divine Phoenix Sect caused a sensation across the continent; it would have been hard not to hear about it... but that was all it was: a mere hearing. In their realm, Yun Che was not yet worthy of their attention. As for later hearing that Yun Che had ruined Ye Xinghan's plans in the Primordial Profound Ark and subsequently died there, they merely dismissed it with a chuckle... Anyone daring to offend the Young Master of their Sun Moon Divine Hall, even if they didn't die within the Primordial Profound Ark, would only meet a worse fate upon exiting it! But upon suddenly learning that Yun Che was alive and had even killed two of his guardians, Ye Xinghan exploded in fury. To eliminate him immediately, he didn't hesitate to deploy the Sun Moon Saint Ark, bringing fifteen guardians and no less than four elders! This was far more than using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken!

"Ye Shi is right," Ye Xiaoran nodded slightly. "While Yun Che's talent is indeed uncommon, given the Young Master's status, he is hardly worthy of such treatment. If the Young Master wished him dead, there would be no need for him to personally appear or to use the Saint Ark. I alone could ensure he has no burial ground."

Ye Xinghan's expression was grim as he uttered in a low voice, "Yun Che... must die!!"

Ye Guying raised his head slightly and said indifferently, "Young Master, I believe it would be wise to proceed with a little more caution on this trip to annihilate Yun Che in Azure Cloud." "Ninth Elder, why do you say that? With the four of us here, even a thousand Yun Ches would surely die. While it's certainly unexpected that Yun Che could kill those two wastes, Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi, could he possibly defeat the four of us?" Ye Guying's words left Ye Shi and Ye Xiaoran puzzled. As the Ninth Elder, Ye Guying's profound energy cultivation had reached its peak, and his status within the Sun Moon Divine Hall was exceptionally high. Although they were all elders, Ye Guying could address Ye Shi and Ye Xiaoran by their names directly, while Ye Shi and Ye Xiaoran would address him as "Ninth Elder" with a hint of respect.

"No, it's not Yun Che we need to be careful of, but the person behind him, or more precisely, his master!" Ye Guying stated solemnly. "Though the Young Master was enraged and impulsive, he is by no means foolish. I believe bringing the four of us along was also part of this consideration."

"I also agree with Ninth Elder," Eleventh Elder Ye Juanyun interjected. "It is said that Yun Che's profound veins were crippled when he was young, yet they miraculously healed. Three years ago, when he swept through the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, he was said to have only cultivated profound energy for less than four years! Now, only three short years have passed, and his profound energy has reached a realm where he can instantly kill Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi! Such a realm can only be described as utterly exaggerated. Even for our Four Sacred Grounds, pouring all our resources into an individual, it would be absolutely impossible for someone to achieve such immense progress in such a short time! It's truly difficult to imagine what kind of profound expert could cultivate such a disciple!"

"Three years ago, there were rumors of a powerful and mysterious master behind him, but no one has ever seen this person," Ye Guying said calmly. "At that time, he faced the entire Divine Phoenix Sect alone in Divine Phoenix City, yet he showed no fear. At his age, less than twenty years old at the time, it was absolutely impossible for him to possess such a mentality and courage; he must have had something to rely on behind him. That might be enough to explain that his master behind him is powerful enough to make him fearless of the Divine Phoenix Sect. The Divine Phoenix Sect likely considered this to some extent at the time, which is why they announced a 'reconciliation' with Yun Che at the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, but then had Feng Feiyan try to kill him in the Primordial Profound Ark!"

"What concerns me most is how he managed to escape the Primordial Profound Ark alive?" Ye Guying continued. "Many of our Four Sacred Grounds' predecessors have been left behind in the Primordial Profound Ark, their fates invariably being complete annihilation! Yet Yun Che somehow reappeared alive..."

"That's easily explained," Ye Shi said with a faint smile. "The Young Master mentioned that three years ago in the Primordial Profound Ark, Xia Yuanba, who possessed the Tyrant Emperor Divine Veins from the Imperial Extreme Sacred Ground, left early before the ark sealed. Princess Snow of the Divine Phoenix Sect was originally sealed in an ancient fortress with Yun Che by the Young Master, but Princess Snow emerged safely... The reason they could leave was by utilizing the Spatial Bracelet, a tool the Imperial Extreme Sacred Ground created at great cost specifically to prevent accidents within the Primordial Profound Ark. If Xia Yuanba and Princess Snow could exit via the Spatial Bracelet, then Yun Che naturally could too! Clearly, three years ago, he was not actually taken away by the Primordial Profound Ark; he escaped using a Spatial Bracelet. He simply realized that having offended the Young Master, leaving the Primordial Profound Ark meant certain death, and the Divine Phoenix Sect wouldn't spare him either. So, after escaping, he quickly went into hiding, creating the illusion that he had been taken by the Primordial Profound Ark, making everyone believe he was dead. This way, he wouldn't be hunted by our Sun Moon Divine Hall and the Divine Phoenix Sect, allowing him to survive in hiding until now... only being exposed today."

"Indeed," Ye Xiaoran nodded in agreement. "This is the only explanation. That Yun Che is so cunning, he actually tricked our Sun Moon Divine Hall and the Divine Phoenix Sect for three whole years... No wonder the Young Master is so enraged!"

Ye Guying raised an eyebrow slightly, then slowly nodded. "This indeed seems to be the best explanation. However, I still have another concern... Both Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi carried soul imprints personally placed by the Young Master. The soul crystals of both Ye Qingsheng and Ye Ziyi were shattered, proving they both died. Yet, the Young Master only received the death imprint of Ye Ziyi. This indicates that Ye Qingsheng's soul imprint was erased before his death! How could someone capable of erasing a soul imprint fail to detect its presence?! But he directly killed Ye Ziyi, almost as if deliberately allowing Ye Ziyi's death imprint to be sent to the Young Master..."

"Hahahaha," Ye Xiaoran burst into laughter. "Ninth Elder is always composed and wise, with meticulous thoughts that often inspire admiration. But this time, you are truly overthinking it. Yun Che might indeed have a powerful master behind him, but no matter how strong his master is, could they possibly surpass Ninth Elder? Our Sun Moon Divine Hall has dominated the Profound Sky Continent for ten thousand years; when have we ever feared anyone? For a mere Yun Che to be 'valued' so highly by the Young Master is already his great honor. Even if his talent and strength were ten times greater, before our Sun Moon Divine Hall, he would still be nothing more than a grasshopper that can be crushed at will! If he truly were as capable as Ninth Elder suggests... why would he go to such lengths three years ago to create a 'feigned death' illusion just to survive?"

"Xiaoran makes a good point," Ye Juanyun said, nodding upon hearing this. "A soul imprint placed on someone can sometimes be erased by the profound energy surge during each breakthrough. It's quite normal for Ye Qingsheng's soul imprint to have possibly disappeared long ago without him even realizing it."

"Heh heh," Ye Guying offered a faint smile. "Perhaps I truly am overthinking things."

"Ninth Elder is always meticulous in his thoughts and never underestimates anyone; that's precisely why he is so highly valued by the Heavenly Monarch," Ye Shi said with a smile. "This is also what we've always admired most about Ninth Elder... Oh? It seems we're already approaching the border of the Azure Cloud Nation. I wonder if Yun Che has noticed and already fled in terror."

Extreme North of Azure Cloud, Ice Cloud Immortal Palace.

It was late night, but the sky above the Ice Pole Snow Region was lit up in a hazy white by the endless ice and snow. Yun Che, upon arriving at Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, did not exit the Primordial Profound Ark with Xiao Yun. Roughly calculating the potential arrival time of the Sun Moon Divine Hall, he quickly pulled out two identical sets of outer garments, belts, and shoes from the Sky Poison Pearl: "Xiao Yun, change into this!" Xiao Yun and Yun Che had extremely similar builds, so Yun Che's clothes naturally fit Xiao Yun perfectly.