Chapter 706: Sending the Divine Phoenix Army to Their Death

Black Moon Merchant Guild.

"Another imperial prince?" Zi Ji, facing a special sound transmission formation, showed a faint surprise. He then asked, "How many people from the Divine Phoenix Sect did he kill today?"

A respectful voice from the formation replied, "Excluding Thirteenth Imperial Prince Feng Xichen and his nine personal guards, a total of ten people. However, many Phoenix disciples were injured by the Divine Phoenix elders' attacks."

"Ten people?" Zi Ji's eyebrows twitched slightly. "In two days, he's killed two imperial princes from the Divine Phoenix Sect, which has surely escalated their hatred to the extreme. He has no reason to show mercy. Yet, he only killed Feng Xiluo yesterday and only ten people today... He's not soft-hearted, so this is quite strange."

"One person... ten people... oh?" Zi Ji pondered, then asked thoughtfully, "When he threatened the Divine Phoenix Sect today, did he propose the same three conditions as yesterday?"

"No!" The voice from the formation denied, then quickly stated the four conditions Yun Che put forward today.

"...So that's it." Zi Ji slowly nodded, then let out a heavy breath. "At the age of twenty-two, he possesses such terrifying shrewdness. It seems he not only wants the Divine Phoenix Sect to pay a bloody price but also wants them to endure an increasingly dark nightmare, gradually destroying their beliefs and dignity..."

"So terrifying..." Zi Ji murmured, information about Yun Che flashing through his mind. A momentary look of dread appeared on his face, which had been weathered by a thousand years. "The Divine Phoenix Sect possesses undeniable power. Especially with the Phoenix God's protection, even the Four Great Sacred Grounds would never truly provoke them. But this time, they've provoked a true devil. In some ways, he is far more terrifying than the Four Great Sacred Grounds combined."

In that brief exchange, Zi Ji used the word "terrifying" three times. Since Yun Che left the Seventh Month Merchant Guild yesterday, Zi Ji had been closely monitoring all of Yun Che's movements. After just one more day, his impression of Yun Che had profoundly changed once again.

In the Profound Sky Continent, even amidst deep grudges, any rational and experienced person knows to "leave a path of retreat" or "leave some leeway," especially when sects or major powers are involved. No matter how great the animosity, one always reserves some room for maneuver. Yun Che, however, seemed to have no concept of "leeway."

Zi Ji's gaze swept down to Divine Phoenix City below. He slowly said, "There's no chaos in Divine Phoenix City today. It seems the Divine Phoenix Sect has temporarily given up searching the city. In that case, those 'Heaven' generation old monsters must have been dispatched, right?"

"There have been no Monarch Profound Realm auras from the Divine Phoenix Sect, so they likely haven't," came the reply from the formation.

"A dignified five-thousand-year-old sect being forced into such a desperate situation by a young man only in the Sovereign Profound Realm... If it were me, I might also be too ashamed to disturb those old monsters in their quiet cultivation. But with two imperial princes dead consecutively, and their opponent completely unharmed, they must have realized that Yun Che's speed is beyond what Overlord Profound Realm profound energy can counter. Could they have other plans?"

"If my subordinates' judgment isn't mistaken, about an hour and a half ago, they began pooling the power of dozens of Phoenix elders to forge a rather large Phoenix Sealing Formation!"

"Phoenix Sealing Formation?" Zi Ji's brow slightly furrowed. He was naturally familiar with the name 'Phoenix Sealing Formation.' It existed only within the Divine Phoenix Sect, mostly used to punish disciples who committed grave errors. Once a Phoenix disciple was affected by the Phoenix Sealing Formation, their entire Phoenix profound energy would be sealed for an extremely long time, or even completely abolished.

Even at the elder level, one could cast the Phoenix Sealing Formation, but dozens of elders collaborating to forge one seemed unprecedented. The Phoenix Sealing Formation's effect was greatly diminished on profound practitioners outside the Divine Phoenix Sect, but once a Phoenix disciple was hit, they would completely lose their profound energy.

Although Yun Che was not part of the Divine Phoenix Sect, he also possessed some Phoenix bloodline. His profound energy, derived from the Phoenix bloodline, was naturally Phoenix profound energy. Therefore, if he were hit by the Phoenix Sealing Formation, he would become a lamb to the slaughter. And a formation forged by dozens of Phoenix elders together would certainly not be a regular Phoenix Sealing Formation; its range was highly likely to be enormous. Once stepped into, it would activate directly, forcibly sealing Phoenix profound energy. Thus, even with Yun Che's heaven-defying speed, he wouldn't be able to use it.

"This Phoenix Sealing Formation is incredibly domineering. Rumor has it that three years ago, on the Primordial Profound Ark, even Princess Snow, who possessed the Phoenix God's body, was sealed by it..." Zi Ji muttered to himself. Clearly, he had no doubt that if Yun Che fell into the Phoenix Sealing Formation, he would surely die.

Yet, he had no intention of having anyone warn Yun Che... because if Yun Che died, while he might feel regret, he would also feel much more at ease.

"Besides this, does the Divine Phoenix Sect have any other actions?" Zi Ji asked calmly.

"None for now. However, reports from Cangfeng indicate that the two Divine Phoenix Army divisions stationed in Cangfeng's eastern and western regions have made significant moves. About two hours ago, almost simultaneously, both divisions, each comprising 200,000 troops, were dispatched directly towards Cangfeng Imperial City, marching at extremely high speed. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will reach Cangfeng Imperial City by the end of tomorrow's Mao hour (5-7 AM)."

"Additionally, the two supervising elders of the eastern and western armies are also accompanying the troops."

"As expected." Zi Ji was not at all surprised by the Divine Phoenix Army's movements, because in such a short time, the Divine Phoenix Sect hadn't had the chance to learn of Xia Yuanba's existence. He looked up towards Phoenix City and sighed softly, "Yun Che, Xia Yuanba... these two individuals, who are destined to shake the entire continent in the future, were not born in Sacred Grounds, but rather came from Cangfeng, this most humble of places... It is truly regrettable."

"The Divine Phoenix Sect is about to suffer another major setback this time."

"Tomorrow, Yun Che will undoubtedly go to the Divine Phoenix Sect again. This time, be there in person, and remember to bring a profound image stone!"

"...Yes!!"

The Cangfeng Nation remained under the shadow of the Divine Phoenix Empire, with over seventy percent of its cities and land under Divine Phoenix control. However, Cangfeng Imperial City, its core, had not fallen, serving as the last testament to Cangfeng's continued existence.

Cangfeng Imperial City, upholding the last vestiges of Cangfeng's dignity, passed another relatively peaceful night in quietude. But as dawn barely broke, this tranquility was shattered by a massive alarm.

"...Two large armies are approaching from the due east and due west, marching very fast, with no signs of stopping. Both are around 200,000 strong. Your Majesty, please give the order to engage!"

"How far are they from the Imperial City now?" Cang Yue asked. She had long grown accustomed to keeping her clothes on, ready for anything. The moment the alarm sounded, she arrived at the Imperial Palace.

"The western army is about thirty li away, and the eastern army about twenty li."

"Tell the soldiers not to panic, and there's no need to go out of the city to meet them." Cang Yue's beautiful face was incomparably calm. Her complexion had improved significantly compared to before, and her calmness was no longer the forced composure she once had to maintain, but a genuine sense of peace and serenity from within.

"Yuanba, Elder Brother Tianxia, my husband said that within three days of his departure from Cangfeng, the Divine Phoenix would surely seize the opportunity to invade with a large army. His prediction was indeed accurate." Cang Yue stood up, facing Xia Yuanba and Number One Under Heaven, who had already arrived. "Our Cangfeng defenses are weak and definitely cannot withstand the Divine Phoenix Army. I entrust the danger to the Imperial City to the two of you this time."

Cang Yue quite frankly gave this instruction directly to Xia Yuanba and Number One Under Heaven. She was no longer the Princess Cang Yue of the past, free from unnecessary affectation or hesitation.

"Hehe..." Xia Yuanba scratched his head awkwardly. "Sister-in-law, you're being too polite with me. These Divine Phoenix dogs, just watch me blast them all to kingdom come!"

"Brother Xia, I'll take the east, you take the west. How about it?" Number One Under Heaven said straightforwardly.

"Alright!"

As their voices faded, the two had already transformed into two gales of wind, vanishing from the great hall.

The Elf tribe could perceive the surrounding world through the power of nature, possessing spiritual senses far superior to ordinary people. The moment Number One Under Heaven left Cangfeng Imperial City, the scale and distribution of the Divine Phoenix Army approaching from the east were clearly mapped in his mind.

The Divine Phoenix Army was still twenty li away, but a powerful aura was rapidly approaching fifteen li ahead of the main army. It was an aura of profound energy at the sixth level of the Overlord Profound Realm.

Number One Under Heaven's brow furrowed. A fierce wind swirled around him as he shot directly towards that person.

Feng Leiming, ranked forty-first among the fifty-six Phoenix elders, was the supervising elder of the Divine Phoenix Eastern Army. This time, as he accompanied the army to attack Cangfeng Imperial City, he had a special mission: to capture Empress Cang Yue alive!

As the army was about to reach Cangfeng Imperial City, he increased his speed, rushing ahead of the main force towards the Imperial City, intending to directly seize Empress Cang Yue. Although Cangfeng Imperial City was the capital of Cangfeng Nation, to him, even if its defenders were ten times more numerous, it would be like entering an unguarded territory.

When he was less than five li from Cangfeng Imperial City, a profound energy fluctuation suddenly appeared before him. A tall figure blocked his path, and a strong gust of wind hit him, instantly suffocating him and bringing his advance to a halt.

The tall figure before him looked exceptionally young, and his aura was not particularly strong, seeming almost ethereal. Feng Leiming sneered, "In this small Cangfeng Nation, there are pitifully few who can traverse the void with profound energy. It seems you must be someone of some standing here. If you were to charge into my army, you might cause a minor nuisance, but unfortunately, you've encountered this Phoenix Elder first."

He deliberately emphasized "Phoenix Elder," yet Feng Leiming saw none of the expected shock or fear on the other's face. Number One Under Heaven's gaze swept over the flame emblem on his chest. "In that case, you must be the so-called supervising elder. Then, as long as I kill you, the rest should be much easier."

"Kill me? Haha..." Just as Feng Leiming's wild laughter escaped his lips, a chilling killing intent enveloped his entire body. A storm of emerald-green profound energy slammed into his chest and face.

Feng Leiming had lived for hundreds of years and fought countless profound practitioners who cultivated wind profound energy, but the overwhelming power of the wind profound energy attacking him now was absolutely unlike anything he had ever encountered in his life.

In terms of profound energy level, Feng Leiming was inherently weaker than Number One Under Heaven. Furthermore, he was overly careless and completely unprepared, and Number One Under Heaven attacked suddenly at close range. Feng Leiming was unable to fully defend himself in time. He rapidly retreated, barely managing to muster less than sixty percent of his total strength in his haste.

Amidst the howling storm, Feng Leiming screamed in agony. His entire chest instantly caved in by nearly three inches, and his face was disfigured by spurting blood. His whole body was covered in nearly a hundred small cuts from the wind blades.

Feng Leiming stumbled backward in panic, one hand clutching his chest, the other covering his face, letting out a pained, distorted roar, "You... you beast! I'll kill you!!"

As he roared, Number One Under Heaven instantly charged forward, a tempest raging around his body. Each strike unleashed a storm with immense crushing power. Feng Leiming resisted with all his Phoenix Flame, but he was steadily pushed back, his body accumulating an increasing number of wind-blade cuts at an alarming rate, leaving him drenched in blood in moments.

Given the two small realm difference in profound energy between them, even with the advantage of Phoenix Flame, Feng Leiming should not have been suppressed so miserably in such a short time. However, the Divine Phoenix Sect's habitual arrogance made him pay a heavy price.

Boom!

With a loud bang, Feng Leiming was blasted two li away by a profound energy storm, then slammed heavily onto the ground, spitting out more than a dozen mouthfuls of blood. His entire body was so drenched in blood that he looked as if he had just crawled out of a blood pool. He struggled to his feet, gazing with a somewhat dazed look at the approaching Number One Under Heaven. He couldn't believe that he, a dignified Phoenix elder, had been so utterly defeated by a young man in this humble land of Cangfeng.

"You damned Cangfeng beast..." Feng Leiming groaned in pain and fear. The approaching figure in his eyes grew closer, making him begin to smell death. Suddenly, his eyes turned savage, and dozens of meters of crimson flames erupted from his body... even his hair and blood began to burn directly.

"I only wanted to capture that Empress; I didn't intend to strike... But you Cangfeng mongrels... you dared to injure this elder..." Feng Leiming's eyes widened, his enlarged pupils radiating hatred and fear... and a hint of perverse pleasure. The flames around him expanded to an immense size, almost threatening to engulf the sky. "Along with that Empress... burn them all to ashes! This is the price for offending this elder... Hahahahahaha!"

The sky-obscuring Phoenix Flames, accompanied by a tremendous explosion, blasted towards Cangfeng Imperial City. This was a catastrophic flame unleashed by an Overlord in a state of madness, wildly burning all the profound energy within his body... and it was Phoenix Fire! If this mass of flames were to land in the very center of Cangfeng Imperial City, it would be enough to incinerate more than half the city into ashes.

Number One Under Heaven's brow tightened. He quickly retreated using the power of wind. This immensely vast Phoenix Fire was difficult for him to completely neutralize even with his full strength. At that moment, in the distance, the densely packed Divine Phoenix Army began to appear. His brow immediately furrowed, and he let out a roar. The Elven Wings, which had been hidden behind him, instantly appeared and unfurled, rapidly forming a massive, sky-darkening storm that caused the sky to dim and clouds to churn, violently tearing up the ground for several li around...

"Ha!!!!"

With a roar, a colossal storm, as if signaling the end of days, surged towards the approaching, sky-obscuring flames.

Wind and fire collided, but there was no burst or release of profound energy. Instead, they merged. Under the storm's rampage, the Phoenix Flames, originally a single mass, were instantly torn into countless tiny fragments. Their speed towards Cangfeng Imperial City gradually slowed, then completely stopped. Then, driven by the storm, they reversed direction, sweeping eastward at an accelerating pace...

Feng Leiming's eyes bulged, and a desperate roar immediately escaped his lips. Even louder roars, shaking the heavens, erupted from the Divine Phoenix Army behind him.

The shredded Phoenix Flames, like a fiery meteor shower from beyond the sky, mercilessly rained down upon the charging Divine Phoenix Army. After marching desperately for a day and a half, the Divine Phoenix soldiers had just barely caught sight of Cangfeng Imperial City's silhouette when they encountered this massive fire shower from the heavens... In an instant, the Divine Phoenix Army, spread across the vast land, was set ablaze, horses rearing and people screaming, turning into a routed mess.

This was not ordinary profound fire, but Phoenix Flame from their own supervising elder. Once it touched anything, even a tiny spark, it would rapidly engulf the entire body and could not be extinguished by their power.

The Phoenix Flame unleashed by Feng Leiming with all his might was already incredibly vast. After being torn apart by Number One Under Heaven's storm, the scattering range became even more immense, almost enveloping the entire Divine Phoenix Army. In just a few dozen breaths, nearly seventy percent of the Divine Phoenix Army perished in the Phoenix Flames. The fortunate few who weren't touched by the flames dared not advance another step, fleeing backward like madmen amidst fearful screams, terrified of being splashed by even a tiny spark.

"You... you..." Watching his vast army being utterly incinerated by his own flames, Feng Leiming trembled all over. He pointed at Number One Under Heaven, then suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes, and collapsed into unconsciousness.

Number One Under Heaven flipped his hand, and three emerald-green profound arrows shot from his fingertips. One pierced Feng Leiming's throat, and two lodged in his heart... Only when Feng Leiming was completely lifeless did Number One Under Heaven calmly turn his gaze away.

"Before you leave, take your comrades' bodies with you," Number One Under Heaven murmured. He waved an arm, and a violent gust of wind swept across several li, picking up Feng Leiming's body and countless charred Divine Phoenix Army corpses from the distance, then flung them far to the east. The falling bodies slammed into a large number of the fleeing Divine Phoenix soldiers, knocking them to the ground.

However, throughout this entire process, Number One Under Heaven did not notice that, in a hidden crevice far away, a pair of eyes silently witnessed everything.

"Transparent wings..." The figure, in astonishment, involuntarily whispered very softly, trying hard to recall something. At that moment, an unusually powerful airflow sound faintly came from the west. His face stiffened in surprise. He quickly suppressed all his aura, completely held his breath, and even firmly closed his eyes... From head to toe, not only was there no aura, but hardly a trace of vitality leaked out.

"As expected of Brother Xia, it seems the Divine Phoenix Army from the west has been completely dealt with," Number One Under Heaven said with a smile, turning to look at the approaching Xia Yuanba.

"Heh, Elder Brother Tianxia, your speed isn't slow either... There's a huge fire over there, oh? Looks like there are quite a few escaping, let me go deal with them!"

"No need," Number One Under Heaven said, reaching out to stop Xia Yuanba, who was about to give chase. He shook his head. "They were just following orders, not exceptionally heinous individuals. Since they pose no further threat, there's no need to annihilate them all."

"Alright," Xia Yuanba readily agreed, then casually added, "But if brother-in-law were here, he would definitely hunt them all down. When I was still weak, brother-in-law once told me that one of the most foolish things in the world is showing mercy to enemies... but I didn't understand it back then."

"Heh, that certainly fits his style. However, whether it's annihilating them all or showing mercy, these are just differences in philosophy; there's no absolute right or wrong," Number One Under Heaven said with a smile. "That fire over there was unleashed by a supervising elder and redirected by me into their army. Otherwise, with my abilities, I wouldn't have been able to wipe out such a massive army so quickly. Brother Xia, were there any supervising elders in your group?"

"Uh... I don't know. I just threw seven or eight punches, and then there was nothing left. I was afraid the bodies would be an eyesore, so I even lifted the ground and buried them... so I couldn't find any elders," Xia Yuanba said, widening his eyes.

"..." Number One Under Heaven paused slightly, then burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha, Brother Xia's strength should naturally lead to such a result. It's almost fully daylight now; let's head back. For a while, the Divine Phoenix Army probably won't invade again. We can just wait for good news from Brother Yun in the city."

"Of course! With how amazing my brother-in-law is, he'll only bring back good news!" Xia Yuanba clenched his fist, utterly confident.

As the two turned to return to Cangfeng Imperial City, Xia Yuanba suddenly stopped, his gaze shifting to the south. The southern area was empty, with only a few scattered, high and low broken rocks several li away.

"What's wrong?" Number One Under Heaven asked cautiously.

"Oh, nothing." Xia Yuanba turned his head back. "Maybe a small animal got scared and hid behind a rock. Let's go back quickly. Brother-in-law specifically told me before he left not to be too far from Sister-in-law."

The sky grew brighter, and Xia Yuanba and Number One Under Heaven swiftly flew back to Cangfeng Imperial City. After a long while, from behind the large rock that Xia Yuanba had looked at earlier, a small, thin figure in black suddenly collapsed to the ground, heavily gasping for two breaths. After slowly recovering for nearly a hundred breaths, he stood up and quickly departed like a phantom.