Chapter 681: Burning Absolute Dust?

"Big Brother, what's wrong?" Seeing Yun Che suddenly stop, his expression changing, Xiao Yun and Heaven's Seventh immediately grew nervous.

"Oh, it seems there might be a bit of trouble," Yun Che said with a hint of helplessness. "Let's go down."

As Floating Cloud City's largest profound energy family, the Xiao Clan was particularly conspicuous when viewed from above. Yun Che didn't descend towards the main gate; instead, almost instinctively, he landed in a courtyard on the eastern side of the Xiao Clan grounds, near the back mountain.

It was very quiet here; the entire Xiao Clan was quiet. The courtyard before them was small, with simple furnishings and humble houses. In one corner of the courtyard stood a lush green grape arbor, heavy with clusters of grapes that were tinged purple amidst the green. Beside the arbor were a simple stone table and two slightly smaller stone stools; the stool on the right was covered in several long cracks.

Standing in the center of the courtyard, looking at everything before him, Yun Che's gaze wavered slightly, lost in thought for a moment.

"Big Brother, where is this?" Xiao Yun asked curiously, observing Yun Che's expression.

"This is the place that holds almost all my memories before I turned sixteen," Yun Che said softly.

"Ah? This... this is Big Brother Yun's home?" Heaven's Seventh looked around, surprised. In Floating Cloud City, having a courtyard like this could be considered luxurious for an ordinary person. But for Heaven's Seventh, who came from a guardian family and was the only princess of the Heaven Clan, such a home was simply too simple and humble. He was the Young Master of the Yun family, the Demon Monarch of the Illusory Demon Realm, and could even be said to have saved the fate of the entire Illusory Demon Realm. She couldn't imagine that the place where Yun Che grew up would be so modest.

"Yes, it's my home," Yun Che said with a faint smile. "I've lived here since I can remember. But back then, this place wasn't just mine; it belonged to me and my Little Aunt. We were together day and night; wherever I went, she went, and wherever she went, I followed, like each other's shadows... It wasn't until I was ten that Grandfather said we couldn't live in the same courtyard anymore and found a new one for Little Aunt. Because of this, Little Aunt cried for many days, and I protested to Grandfather with all my might. But Grandfather, who usually doted on us, wouldn't budge on this matter."

"After that, Little Aunt, who had moved into her new courtyard, would often secretly come back to sleep with me. But whenever Grandfather found out, he would scold her severely... Eventually, as we gradually understood the concept of separation between genders, Little Aunt never secretly visited again."

Yun Che spoke softly, a faint smile on his face. His smile at that moment came from his soul, pure and unadulterated. In those years, although he was often mocked and occasionally bullied, always enduring gazes of disdain and pity, at that time, because of his Little Aunt, his happy moments far outweighed his sad ones, and even his feelings of inferiority were very faint.

In recent years, he was no longer the waste whose profound veins were crippled and had no future. His strength had grown exponentially, admired and even feared by more and more people. The height he had reached far surpassed that of the Xiao Sect, which the Xiao Clan revered as divine. Yet, this also meant his world was perpetually filled with storms, and he could never return to that happy world where only his Little Aunt existed.

Over six years had passed since he last came here. Yet, everything here almost perfectly overlapped with his memories, without any changes... The door, the windows, the stone table, the grape arbor... even the lanterns hung there six years ago for his marriage to Xia Qingyue were still present, though weathered beyond recognition.

The entire courtyard was impeccably clean, showing no signs of being left unattended for six years, no dilapidation or mess as Yun Che had expected. It was as if someone swept it every day. Yun Che stepped forward and stood before the stone table, his hand gently tracing the surface. He lifted his finger... not a speck of dust clung to it.

This place... had just been cleaned...

Yun Che's heart trembled. Could it be... could it be...?

"Little Che... is that you?"

In this world, very few sounds could directly stir Yun Che's rock-solid soul, but Xiao Lingxi's voice was definitely one of them. Yun Che's soul surged violently, and he turned around almost instantly... At the courtyard gate, Xiao Lingxi stood in a light green dress, her beautiful, star-like eyes brimming with a thick layer of mist.

"Little Aunt..." Yun Che uttered softly, his arm involuntarily rising forward, wanting to bridge the space and touch the most intimate, familiar, and important girl in his life. "I'm back..."

"Ah..." Xiao Yun couldn't help but exclaim, gazing at Xiao Lingxi in a daze. "She is... she is..."

Yun Che's address of "Little Aunt" confirmed the girl's identity to him... This girl, with her exquisite beauty, delicate demeanor, and who appeared even younger than himself, was... Little Aunt... his blood relative... his kin...

Xiao Lingxi's small hand pressed heavily against her lips, and crystalline tears fell like broken strings of pearls. After a brief moment of stillness, she let out a soft cry, throwing herself tearfully into Yun Che's arms, landing heavily against his chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, and her flowing tears quickly soaked a large patch of his shirt.

"Little Che... Little Che... Little Che..." she called out repeatedly, soon becoming choked with sobs.

"I'm sorry, Little Aunt... I promised you I'd be back in a month, but instead... instead, I made you wait three years." Yun Che wrapped his arms around the girl, gently holding her. Her waist was even more slender than three years ago, and her body more delicate... Even her profound strength had regressed rather than advanced. In three years, Yun Che had grown about half a foot taller, making the girl in his arms appear even more fragile and petite before him. What pained Yun Che the most was her crying... The Little Aunt he knew would laugh loudly and cry profusely, especially in front of him, always releasing her emotions without reservation.

But the Little Aunt before him, though crying, was striving to suppress her sobs. Only her shoulders trembled violently. A certain liveliness had faded from her, replaced by a melancholy so profound it almost broke Yun Che's heart and left him breathless.

In these three years, how many cruel scars had his "death" and the great calamity of the Azure Cloud Nation etched into her heart...

Yun Che's hands silently clenched. He raised his head, his eyes flickering with a trace of pain... When I was useless and my profound veins were crippled, what I saw most every day was Little Aunt's smiling face... Now I grow stronger by the day, yet why do I bring Little Aunt repeated heartbreak and sorrow...

Why am I pursuing power?!!

Xiao Lingxi shook her head vigorously, hugging him even tighter. The chest she leaned on was broader than before, and his embrace was the only place in the world that truly brought her inner peace and contentment. With a sobbing voice, she whispered, "I know... Little Che didn't mean it... It's enough that Little Che is back... I thought I'd never see Little Che again... My Little Che... is finally back..."

Her murmurs were filled with the pain of longing and the joy of rediscovery. Yun Che took a long breath, then lowered his voice, stating with unwavering resolve, "Little Aunt, I promise you, I will never let you..."

Yun Che's voice abruptly cut off. His entire body stiffened, and his gaze, which had instantly turned cold, sharply swept behind him. He quickly turned, pulling Xiao Lingxi with him.

Because in that instant, he was suddenly locked onto by an aura of extreme coldness... Though possessing a Water Spirit Evil Body, he had no fear of ice or cold. Yet, when this aura enveloped him, he felt a momentary, soul-piercing chill, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. In his mind, he even vaguely saw a pair of demonic eyes as dark as an abyss, and he felt as if he had suddenly been plunged into a terrifying and sinister dark hell.

This unprecedented, bone-chillingly sinister, and extremely uncomfortable aura—could it be the demonic energy Jasmine spoke of?

Who could it be?!

The moment he turned, Yun Che's gaze was firmly fixed on a black figure floating in the air... The figure was slightly shorter and thinner than Yun Che, dressed entirely in black, with hair as dark as night, reaching down to his waist. His face was rigid and pale, and his eyes were lifeless, showing no spark of light. The aura emanating from him was bone-chillingly cold, yet Yun Che couldn't sense any life force from it... It was as if a corpse, not a living person, was floating there.

When he recognized the black figure's face, Yun Che's brow furrowed sharply, and a deep look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Feng Jue... Chen!?" Yun Che's voice held clear hesitation as he uttered the last word.

His appearance and eyes were identical to Feng Juechen in Yun Che's memories. However, the Feng Juechen he knew had absolutely no such aura. Furthermore... from this black-clad figure, he clearly sensed a distinct and chilling danger! At Yun Che's current level, anything that could make him feel endangered would need to be at least early stage Monarch. Yet, when he let Feng Juechen go three and a half years ago, Feng Juechen's profound energy was only at the Spirit Profound Realm. In less than four short years, it was impossible for him to have reached a realm capable of threatening Yun Che.

"Hmm? It's actually this person," Jasmine's voice also carried surprise.

"Yun... Che!!" His face remained rigid; neither his expression nor his dim pupils flickered as he spoke. Yet, his voice carried bone-chilling hatred: "You're still alive... You're actually still alive!!"

"..." The aura enveloping Yun Che instantly grew dozens of times colder. The moment the black-clad figure spoke, Yun Che confirmed... this person was indeed Feng Juechen! Because the voice, the tone, and the hatred were exactly the same as when he let him go years ago!!

"Do you know how much I hated, how much I suffered, when I heard of your death back then?! All these years, I've dreamed of you coming back to life so I could tear you to shreds with my own hands!!"

Feng Juechen's hands trembled, and two masses of black energy floated around his palms, growing increasingly dense. Yun Che's gaze flickered to the black energy... A single glance sent an extremely uncomfortable sensation through his entire body. He turned his eyes back, meeting Feng Juechen's gaze unflinchingly. "It seems your beautiful dream has come true, but... do you really think you can kill me now?"

Before Feng Juechen could reply, Jasmine's cold scoff echoed in Yun Che's mind. "His current profound energy level is Sovereign Profound Realm Level Five, and combined with the unique nature of demonic profound energy, he could definitely kill you in a head-on fight!"

"!?#$..." Yun Che's eye twitched violently. "You're not... kidding, are you?!"

Back then, he had destroyed the Burning Heaven Clan but spared Feng Juechen, primarily because Feng Juechen had indeed saved Xiao Lingxi, and also due to Xiao Lingxi's plea. A secondary reason was that, subconsciously, he never believed Feng Juechen's survival could pose any threat to him. At that time, a thousand Feng Juechens couldn't have harmed him, and given Yun Che's unmatched growth rate, even if Feng Juechen's talent were ten times greater, he would only fall further behind, eventually becoming an existence no different from an ant in Yun Che's eyes.

The bloodline and divine power he possessed were things ordinary people couldn't hope for even in a hundred lifetimes! His master, Jasmine, transcended the very plane of existence. On the Profound Sky Continent, when it came to growth speed, no one should have been able to compare to him.

Xia Yuanba's astonishing growth speed was due to his Emperor Overlord Divine Veins! This heaven-defying talent caused even the Supreme Ocean Palace, ranked first among the Sacred Lands, to revere him as a treasure.

How could Feng Juechen, who was only at the Spirit Profound Realm back then... have reached the mid-stage Monarch realm in less than four short years!!

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Jasmine said icily. "However, you don't need to be too surprised. His power wasn't cultivated, and even his demonic energy isn't derived from his own will. Instead, a demonic source was injected into his soul!"