Chapter 723: Final Meeting

Yun Che did not turn back.

Since entering the Divine Phoenix Empire, the person he feared seeing most was Feng Xue'er.

It wasn't that he didn't want to; rather, he couldn't... or perhaps, he didn't dare.

Moreover, with each visit to Phoenix City, and with each Divine Phoenix Sect member he killed, it became increasingly impossible for him to face Feng Xue'er.

She was a member of the Divine Phoenix Sect, Feng Hengkong's daughter, and the most dazzling jewel of the entire Divine Phoenix Empire. At the same time, she also resided in the softest part of his heart. She was his greatest emotional "obstacle" during this visit to the Divine Phoenix Empire.

"Xue'er..." Yun Che murmured softly, his heart, which had shown no fear or ripple in the face of the entire Divine Phoenix Sect, was now in complete turmoil.

Dressed in white, Feng Xue'er's snow-like robes fluttered wildly in the turbulent, scorching air. Her snow-white hands pressed tightly over her lips. Her exquisite, snowy face, beautiful enough to dim the radiance of celestial beings, was completely drenched by the unrestrained torrent of tears.

Yun Che's soft cry, born of uncontrollable emotion, was as light as a breeze, yet it instantly broke Feng Xue'er's emotional dam. With a sobbing cry, she rushed towards Yun Che, her tears falling like brilliant stars scattering across a night sky.

In that moment, the fiery purgatory in the sky, the upheaval in Phoenix City, the crisis engulfing the entire city... all of it was forgotten. In her tear-filled gaze, only Yun Che's figure remained in the vast world.

"Princess Xue..."

"Xue'er, don't go near him!!"

Feng Xue'er's arrival caught everyone off guard. But her actions astonished and bewildered them even more, quickly turning into utter dismay.

At least thousands of exclamations erupted simultaneously from below, but they failed to make Feng Xue'er pause even for a second. With her white robes fluttering, she arrived behind Yun Che like a moth drawn to a flame, embracing him tightly from behind. Her face, every part of it wet with tears, pressed firmly against his shoulder. She closed her eyes, savoring Yun Che's unique scent and aura, and murmured dreamily, "Big Brother Yun... am I really... not dreaming... Big Brother Yun..."

"..." Yun Che's entire body tensed. The murderous aura that had been suppressing the entire Divine Phoenix City now uncontrollably dissipated like a breaking dam under her soft cry. Even the anger, resentment, hatred, and even the pleasure of vengeance within him were completely enveloped by something profoundly warm and soft.

"Princess... Princess Xue..."

"This... this this this..."

"What... what is happening? What exactly is going on?"

All the members of the Divine Phoenix Sect were dumbfounded and bewildered. They stared up blankly at Yun Che and Feng Xue'er, who were locked in a tight embrace, their mouths agape, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Feng Xue'er was the Divine Phoenix Sect's most precious jewel, the heavens' bestowed treasure and only princess of the Divine Phoenix Empire, the sole true inheritor of the Phoenix God in this generation, and the future Second Phoenix God of the Divine Phoenix Sect!

Her talent, status, nobility, bloodline, and beauty... all were supreme under heaven. Such a Princess Xue was an almost fairy-tale-like perfect existence in the Divine Phoenix Empire, enjoying the utmost love and protection from the entire sect. Before the age of thirteen, she was personally guarded by the Ancestral Phoenix God, making it difficult even for Feng Hengkong to see her. After thirteen, even imperial princes and elders found it hard to get within half a step of her.

And now... Princess Xue, who in their eyes was like a star in the heavens, was tightly embracing a man from outside the sect. What's more, she had initiated the hug, and her tears flowed like a spring rain for him.

"Xue'er, quickly leave him!!" Feng Ximing's eyes were bloodshot, and his chest felt as though it would burst. He wasn't too surprised by Feng Xue'er's sudden return; after all, such a massive commotion was enough to alarm Qifeng Valley. But he never dreamed that the first thing she would do upon returning was to embrace Yun Che.

Feng Ximing felt as though every part of his body was about to rip apart. An intense, indescribable rage... coupled with jealousy, made his mind reel. Even when Yun Che had just pushed him to the brink of despair, his resentment towards Yun Che had never been this absolute...

Because as the Divine Phoenix Crown Prince and Feng Xue'er's elder brother... he had never even been able to touch Feng Xue'er's fingertips.

Overwhelmed by extreme fury, Feng Ximing let out a bestial growl from his throat, suddenly soaring into the air and charging forward with a roar.

Feng Tianwei's gaze darkened. He suddenly reached out and pulled down, flinging Feng Ximing back to the ground with a powerful surge of profound energy. "Do you have a death wish?!"

"Ming'er, don't make a spectacle of yourself!" Feng Hengkong said in a deep voice, staring at Feng Ximing, who was scrambling up from the ground, his face twitching. Yet, Feng Hengkong's own hands were tightly clenched, and the painful twitching on his face was no less severe than Feng Ximing's.

The tears Feng Xue'er shed for Yun Che after waking had already unsettled him. Now, upon suddenly learning that Yun Che was alive, an intense, extreme killing intent instantly flared within him.

Today, the very thing he had feared and dreaded most had finally come to pass... and it was far more complete and shocking than anything he had repeatedly imagined or speculated.

"What on earth... is going on?" Feng Tianwei's face was terrifyingly grim. How could a man who had lived for hundreds of years, who had once been an emperor of a nation and master of a sect, fail to discern that Feng Xue'er's actions towards Yun Che at this moment were far, far beyond mere "life-saving gratitude"?

He couldn't even believe that she would cry for a man, let alone actively embrace one.

She was Xue'er... the future "God" of the Divine Phoenix Sect!!

"..." Feng Hengkong gripped his head with twisted fingers, groaning in pain, "This is why... I absolutely must kill Yun Che..."

"Xue'er must have been bewitched by him... Kill him... Grandfather, you must kill that bastard Yun Che, kill him!!" Feng Ximing grabbed Feng Tianwei's robe, his expression and voice distorted with pain, as if undergoing a thousand cuts.

"..." Feng Tianwei's eyebrows twitched violently. He took a sharp breath, then looked up again. His brows furrowed slightly as he murmured to himself, "Xue'er's aura... why has it changed so much..."

In this world, no one could bear to see Feng Xue'er's tears. The girl's tears, continuously falling onto his shoulder, dampened Yun Che's outer robe, touched his skin, and deeply permeated his heart.

After a long period of rigidity, Yun Che finally turned around. He reached out, cupped Feng Xue'er's tear-streaked face, and gently wiped away the tears that had fallen for him... Feng Xue'er, so close, looked exactly as she had three years ago, with no change in her appearance. Her exquisite, snowy face, adorned with glistening tears, was dreamlike in its beauty.

"Xue'er... these past three years, have you and Chan'er been well?"

Feng Xue'er's eyes were misty with tears as she gazed at him, dazed. She wanted to smile joyfully, yet also wanted to embrace him and cry her heart out. "As long as I can see Big Brother Yun... I'll always be fine... I... I thought... I'd truly never see Big Brother Yun again..."

"I still have something I promised Xue'er that I haven't fulfilled, so how could I not appear? These past three years, I was merely taken by the Primordial Profound Ark to travel around," Yun Che said with a light chuckle.

"Mm..." Feng Xue'er smiled through her tears, her dewy, blossoming smile instantly eclipsing all other brilliance in the world.

The fiery purgatory in the sky roasted Phoenix City, and the entire Divine Phoenix Sect below was on edge. Yet, amidst this, the profound warmth between Yun Che and Feng Xue'er overshadowed all the scorching heat. The minds of all the Phoenix elders and disciples froze. Feng Ximing bit his teeth until blood spurted, and his endurance, held by every ounce of his will, completely collapsed. He roared like a beast, "Yun Che... let go of my imperial sister!!"

"Xue'er, leave him, quickly leave him! He will kill you!" Feng Ximing's appearance showed he had almost completely lost his sanity.

Feng Ximing's roar also made the stunned Phoenix profound practitioners sober up. Feng Tianwei then said sternly, "Xue'er, immediately leave that man and come to Grandfather! He is too dangerous!!"

Feng Xue'er gently brushed her snow-white hand across her face, wiping away her tear stains. A genuinely joyful, faint smile graced her lips. "Grandfather, Crown Prince Brother, you don't need to worry. Big Brother Yun would never harm Xue'er."

"No! Xue'er, you don't understand!" Feng Hengkong raised his hands, trembling as he roared, "He is not the Yun Che of three years ago! He is a madman now, a terrifying devil! Do you know that in just these past few days, he killed your fourteenth brother, your thirteenth brother, and also your ninth and eleventh brothers... All of them were killed by Yun Che!"

"And they died terribly, without even leaving corpses behind!"

"And the Grand Elder, the Second Elder... even the two Supreme Elders, Tianqing and Tianyu, were also killed by him!!" Feng Ximing continued Feng Hengkong's words, shouting with all his might, "Even Imperial Father was severely wounded by him! He even intends to destroy our entire Phoenix City... That flame domain in the sky, that's what he's using to destroy our Phoenix City! Xue'er, quickly leave him! He truly is a devil, an irreconcilable mortal enemy of our entire sect!"

Feng Xue'er had never seen Feng Hengkong and Feng Ximing so utterly hoarse. With her unparalleled intelligence, how could she not understand what was happening here? It was just that everything was pushed out of her soul by Yun Che's presence. At this moment, listening to the cries from her Imperial Father and Crown Prince Brother, her gaze was misty, and she shook her head, at a loss. "No... that's not true. Big Brother Yun wouldn't do such a thing."

Yun Che: "..."