Chapter 678: Escaping the Calamity

The nineteen members of the Sun Moon Divine Hall swiftly scrambled into the Sun Moon Sacred Ark, not making a sound throughout the entire process, fearing the terrifying black-robed elder might suddenly change his mind. As the ark’s door closed, the Sun Moon Sacred Ark activated, and in an instant, it shot into the sky, vanishing into the vast blizzard, leaving behind only a lingering wave of icy cold.

They had arrived with a total of twenty people: the young master, accompanied by four grand elders and fifteen powerful protectors. They had believed such a formidable lineup would be overkill for the task. Yet, shortly after their arrival, they couldn’t harm Yun Che in the slightest, instead losing an elder and retreating in utter disarray. Even after the Sun Moon Sacred Ark had flown hundreds of miles, they still trembled with lingering fear, cold sweat pouring from their bodies.

“They’re gone… Finally gone…”

The overwhelming presence that had made even Emperors tremble instantly vanished without a trace, and the entire world returned to normal from its state of absolute frozen stillness. With the panicked departure of the Sun Moon Divine Hall, the Ice Cloud disciples didn't feel the expected relief. Instead, they all stared blankly at the "black-robed elder" in the sky, their gazes like those of people gazing at a deity.

Murong Qianxue stepped forward and, with the etiquette of a junior, said with utmost respect, “Junior Murong Qianxue, on behalf of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, thanks Senior for your great kindness!”

“Heh…” The black-robed elder let out a somewhat weak laugh. “Uncle Murong… I cannot bear the title of ‘Senior’…”

The "black-robed elder's" voice startled Murong Qianxue into a daze. In her surprise, she instinctively looked up at the black figure in the sky. All the Ice Cloud disciples behind her were also petrified—because that voice no longer held the slightest trace of its previous low, indifferent, or ancient quality. It was clearly Yun Che’s voice!

“Whoosh…”

With a long exhalation, the "black-robed elder’s" body swayed violently, then tumbled down from the air, landing heavily on the snow below.

“Ah… Big Brother!”

"Yun Che" exclaimed, rushing to the "black-robed elder's" side and helping him to sit up. At this moment, the "black-robed elder" exuded no overwhelming pressure; in fact, he was as weak as a severely injured person on the verge of death.

Murong Qianxue and the others exchanged glances. Mu Lanyi quietly asked, “Palace Master, what’s going on? Senior, he…”

“No… no!” "Yun Che" hastily waved his hand, stammering, “I’m not the Palace Master, Big Brother is the Palace Master… Ah… he… he’s Big Brother…”

The black robe on the "black-robed elder" was then drawn back, revealing Yun Che’s face beneath it—identical to the "Yun Che" who was supporting him! The now unrobed Yun Che was terrifyingly pale, his chest heaving violently, his breathing heavy and rapid. He was utterly limp, unable to stand for a long time. He closed his eyes, a content and peaceful smile on his face. “That’s good… My Dragon Soul… finally held on… Phew…”

His voice was immediately weak, but it was undeniably Yun Che’s voice. In contrast, the "Yun Che" supporting him had a completely unfamiliar voice. At that moment, "Yun Che" fumbled to wipe his face, restoring his original appearance, and asked anxiously, “Big Brother, are you alright? Your aura… why has it become so weak?”

“I’m fine,” Yun Che shook his head, smiling. “It’s just excessive mental exertion; I’m a bit tired. A period of rest will fix it.”

The "black-robed elder," who had startled the Sun Moon Divine Hall into retreat with his earth-shattering power, had turned into Yun Che, while the "Yun Che" had become a stranger. All the Ice Cloud disciples were bewildered. They looked at Yun Che, then at Xiao Yun, their eyes dazed. Chu Yueli asked in surprise and doubt, “Palace Master, what… what is going on?”

“This is my sworn brother… Xiao Yun.” Yun Che, whose breathing had calmed somewhat, managed to straighten his upper body with some difficulty, leaning on Xiao Yun’s shoulder. “He was in the Profound Ark earlier and was disguised as me. When I suddenly disappeared just now, I entered the Profound Ark, and the ‘me’ you saw afterwards, that was him.”

“…Greetings… Fairy sisters… Ah, and Senior Fairy, hello. I… I’m Xiao Yun.” Xiao Yun stammered, not even daring to lift his head while speaking. Facing these women, who resembled snow fairies, he felt his heart race and his speech become incoherent even with just one, let alone seeing so many at once.If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, perhaps he wouldn't have believed such a… fairyland existed in this world.

“As for the ‘master’ you saw, that was always me,” Yun Che said with a smile, not at all surprised by Xiao Yun’s reaction.

“But…”

“Those were all illusions.” Yun Che knew what they were wondering about and said with a smile, “That aura, I forcibly created it using a special method. The spark that killed Ye Shi, I prepared it beforehand during those hours in the Ice Phoenix Shrine. As for the rest… they were all fabricated to intimidate them.”

The overwhelming pressure that deterred the Sun Moon Divine Hall naturally came from Yun Che’s Dragon Soul. He used almost all of his mental energy to desperately activate the Dragon God’s Soul, releasing an enormous Dragon God’s might. Although Yun Che’s current abilities were far from being able to fully activate the Dragon God’s Soul, it was still power from a Dragon God, a divine level of pressure. Even a faint trace was enough to make powerful Emperors tremble in fear.While the strength of this pressure was far inferior to the "Dragon Soul Domain" which could instantly crush enemies’ souls, it was still extremely taxing on Yun Che’s spirit. He hadn't known beforehand how long he could sustain it; everything today was a gamble. Fortunately… he won!

The ice-blue flame that obliterated Ye Shi and sent terror through the Sun Moon Divine Hall was Yun Che’s "Iceflame," a fusion of Ice Phoenix power and Phoenix Flame. Fusing Iceflame required a considerable amount of time and complete concentration throughout the process, without any disturbance, making it impossible to achieve during combat or when facing enemies.

The two clusters of Iceflame he manifested when facing the Sun Moon Divine Hall were fused beforehand in the Ice Phoenix Shrine, before the Sun Moon Divine Hall arrived. However, any energy construct, once created, naturally dissipates. Once it leaves its vessel and comes into contact with other objects, its power instantly erupts and then dissipates into nothingness.

The only possible vessel for Iceflame was, naturally, Yun Che’s body. But even if Yun Che could fuse it in advance, he couldn't carry two clusters of Iceflame from the start when meeting the Sun Moon Divine Hall. If he had, the deterrent power would have been greatly diminished, or even non-existent. Not only would he have failed to create the image of an "unbeatable master," but his own trump card would have been completely exposed.

However, Yun Che had a very special vessel… the Heavenly Profound Poison Pearl!Because the Heavenly Profound Poison Pearl was already integrated into his body, it was a part of him. The Iceflame fused by him could only use his body as a vessel, and naturally, it could also use the Heavenly Profound Poison Pearl, which was part of his body, as a vessel. Therefore, Yun Che successively fused two clusters of Iceflame in the Ice Phoenix Shrine and placed them inside the Heavenly Profound Poison Pearl. However, even within the Heavenly Profound Poison Pearl, the Iceflame’s power would still naturally dissipate. The cluster of Iceflame that Yun Che used to obliterate Ye Shi was the first one he fused in the Ice Phoenix Shrine; being fused earlier, it had naturally dissipated more, making it nearly half the size of the subsequent cluster.

Solely the Dragon God’s Soul pressure was sufficient to deter the Sun Moon Divine Hall, but not enough to send them fleeing in panic. Yun Che’s greatest reliance today was the Iceflame, which had never been seen before. Back when his profound strength was only at the Earth Profound Realm, a single Iceflame could instantly destroy the Heavenly Jade, which had taken two Overlords half a year to break open. At the Sky Profound Realm, Iceflame could burn a large hole in an ancient divine artifact like the Primordial Profound Ark. Now at the Sovereign Profound Realm, he believed that even an Emperor could not fully withstand the power of Iceflame.

However, the terror of Iceflame still far exceeded his expectations. He had originally anticipated that when facing an Iceflame with no aura, the opponent would contemptuously block it, resulting in instant severe injury, requiring them to exert full strength to counteract the Iceflame’s power. Even if only a hand was devoured, it would have been sufficient to create enormous deterrence—after all, it was just power casually thrown by the "master."He had never expected beforehand that a powerful Level Four Emperor would be instantly annihilated into nothingness under the Iceflame, barely having the strength to struggle! And that was an Iceflame that had already dissipated by more than half!

This power, which forcefully defied natural laws by fusing ice and fire using the Heretic God’s strength, was terrifying to such an extent!And the deterrence it created was naturally extreme: the powerhouses of the Sun Moon Divine Hall turned ashen with fright, and the Sun Moon Elders, who usually looked down on the world, spoke with trembles. When they finally fled, they were practically scrambling and crawling, not even daring to look back.

“So… that’s how it is…” Chu Yueli murmured quietly, but there was no relief on her snowy face; instead, she looked even more surprised. All of this, it was all an illusion… but they couldn't imagine what method could create such illusions.No wonder after "Yun Che" reappeared, his expression no longer displayed arrogance. Instead, he kept his head down most of the time, and his voice was much lower and seemed a bit hoarse. They had thought it was respectful caution when facing his master, but it was merely a disguise for the fake Yun Che.

“Anyway, those bad people from the Sun Moon Divine Hall were all scared away; they were still trembling as they fled,” Feng Hanyue said excitedly, clasping her hands over her chest.

“Yes, yes!” Feng Hanxue nodded vigorously. “Even if it was fake, Palace Master is truly amazing. He scared away all those powerful people, and they probably… won’t come back, right?”

“Right… at least until all this is exposed, they won’t have the guts to come back. After all, the stronger a person is, the more they tend to fear death… From now on, not only will there be no more threats here, but it can even be said that… this is the safest place. Phew…” As his voice trailed off, Yun Che’s head spun. He exhaled heavily and closed his eyes. Today’s gains far exceeded his expectations. As a result, not only would the Sun Moon Divine Hall never dare to come to the Frozen Cloud Snowdrift again, but his own security had also greatly increased. He was sure that the news of his "powerful master" named "Heaven-Stealing" would soon be spread by the Sun Moon Divine Hall. At that time, no matter who or what force wanted his life, they would have to carefully consider if they could afford to provoke a "master" who had scared the Sun Moon Divine Hall witless!

Although the "master" was an illusion he designed, that pressure, the world-shaking flames, and Ye Shi, who turned into nothingness—none of these were fake!

As a result, the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace had completely escaped danger. And he could safely and peacefully… deal with the Divine Phoenix Empire’s matters!

“Palace Master…” Yun Che’s state made Murong Qianxue gasp softly. She rushed forward and personally supported Yun Che’s upper body. “Palace Master is very weak now. Quickly help Palace Master to the Ice Snow Palace to rest… Young Master Xiao, please come along too.”

“Ah?” Xiao Yun froze, then waved his hand frantically, saying with an awkward expression, “No, no… I won’t go in. I heard Big Brother say that Ice Cloud Immortal Palace doesn’t have… doesn’t have males…”

Jun Lianqie said slowly, “Though our palace rarely hosts male guests, Young Master Xiao is the Palace Master’s sworn brother, and thus a distinguished guest of our palace. Furthermore, Young Master Xiao assisted the Palace Master in repelling a powerful enemy and can be considered a benefactor of our Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. At least allow us to fulfill our duties as hosts, please.”

Xiao Yun looked at Yun Che in Murong Qianxue’s arms with a pleading gaze, but found his eyes gently closed, his breathing steady; he seemed to have entered a meditative state. Xiao Yun could only scratch his forehead and said somewhat sheepishly, “Alright… then I’ll impose.”After all, in this completely unfamiliar place, without Yun Che’s Primordial Profound Ark, he had no way to return to the Azure Cloud Imperial City.