Chapter 844: Life and Death on the Edge

The Little Demon Empress's divine power came at the cost of her life. Using her full flame power would further shorten her already limited lifespan; she would never resort to such a state unless absolutely compelled. But with her killing intent and fury at their peak, and Yun Che teetering on the edge of death, she no longer considered the repercussions.

Previously, the three Sacred Masters combined could contend with the Little Demon Empress, even holding a slight advantage. However, once the Little Demon Empress unleashed her full flame power, Huangji Wuyu was instantly defeated, and Ye Meixie had one of his arms brutally severed.

Qu Fengyi froze, her body rigid, not daring to advance another step. Ye Meixie's severed arm was completely engulfed by the Golden Crow flame; before it could even fall, it was incinerated into ash and vanished without a trace.

*Bang!* The ground beside Ye Meixie exploded. Huangji Wuyu shot into the air, grabbed Ye Meixie, extinguished the Golden Crow flame spreading on him, and roared, "Go!" He and Qu Fengyi fled at full speed, like streaks of lightning.

The Little Demon Empress was about to give chase when Feng Xue'er's joyful voice suddenly called from behind: "Big Brother Yun, you... you're awake!!"

The Little Demon Empress paused, her colorful figure flickering as she returned to Yun Che's side.

Perhaps the profound energy the Little Demon Empress had just infused into him was taking effect. Yun Che's life force was still incredibly weak. His eyes were half-open, his gaze dim and unfocused.

"Caiyi... is that... you?" Yun Che moved his parched lips, emitting a sound as faint as a mosquito's buzz. He had regained a little consciousness and opened his eyes, but all he saw was a vast darkness. The warm Golden Crow aura within him let him know that the Little Demon Empress was by his side.

"Don't speak," the Little Demon Empress said. She placed one hand on his forehead and the other on his severely damaged chest, continuously channeling the purest Golden Crow Origin Energy into his body. However, her senses could not locate the heart meridian she was desperately trying to protect.

His heart meridian was completely shattered.

To not die immediately with all five organs and the heart meridian shattered, and even to faintly regain some consciousness, was, in ordinary people's understanding, an impossible miracle.

"It's no use... you'll just... damage your... vitality for nothing..." Yun Che's fingers trembled slightly, as if trying to resist. He knew best how the Little Demon Empress's power worked; rather than simply transferring her own profound energy, she was desperately sacrificing her life force for him. Powerless to stop her, he slowly closed his eyes, which couldn't see clearly even when open, and said bitterly, "Before... no matter how severe my injuries... as long as I had a breath left... I was always sure I'd survive..."

"But this time... I might... really not make it..."

"Big Brother Yun! You'll be fine... you definitely will!" Feng Xue'er shook her head, tears blurring her vision, interrupting him.

A faint layer of golden flame floated around Yun Che. The Little Demon Empress withdrew her hands and said softly, "Don't talk too much and waste your energy. While you're still conscious, summon the Primordial Profound Ark, then we'll return to the Illusory Demon Realm together. I'll take you to the Golden Crow Divine Spirit; it's an omnipotent deity and will surely find a way to save you."

"Okay..." Yun Che responded. If anything in this world could save him, it could only be the Golden Crow Soul. Even if not for that reason, he could no longer remain in the Azure Cloud Continent. "We need to bring... Grandpa and the others..."

Every word Yun Che spoke was extremely difficult. He struggled to concentrate, and with a ripple of spatial energy, the Primordial Profound Ark appeared. Under Yun Che's mental command, it drew the three of them into its inner world and then vanished.

Huangji Wuyu and Qu Fengyi fled frantically with Ye Meixie. The three dignified Sacred Masters, like startled birds, escaped for hundreds of miles. Only after confirming that the Little Demon Empress was not pursuing them did they finally slow down and stop, still visibly shaken.

"That person... was that really the Little Demon Empress?" Qu Fengyi asked, her voice filled with doubt. Beside her, Ye Meixie sat on the ground, healing, his face contorted in pain. He still couldn't accept that he, who should have been invincible, had an arm brutally severed, becoming a one-armed Sky Monarch.

"I can't believe it either," Huangji Wuyu said, his face grim. "But the flame she used was clearly Golden Crow Flame. The only one in this world who can release Golden Crow Flame to that extent must be the Little Demon Empress of the Illusory Demon Realm! *Hiss*... The Demon Emperor who perished a hundred years ago should have been the strongest in the Illusory Demon Realm, yet his strength was still slightly inferior to any of us four. Why is the Little Demon Empress's strength so immense?"

What filled him with dread was that the power the Little Demon Empress suddenly unleashed at the end clearly surpassed even the rampaging Ye Mufeng from a thousand years ago!

"No... that's impossible." Qu Fengyi thought for a moment, then shook her head. "My Sea Palace secretly placed informants in Demon Imperial City a hundred years ago. According to their reports, the Little Demon Empress's profound energy wouldn't exceed the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm. That person absolutely couldn't have been the Little Demon Empress."

Then, Qu Fengyi suddenly thought of something and whispered, "However, the last message from our informants in Demon Imperial City was sent a year and a half ago. Could some major abnormality have occurred after that? No, that's not right! Even if the Little Demon Empress's talent were ten times greater, it would be impossible for her strength to grow to such an abnormal degree in such a short time."

Huangji Wuyu pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "It seems we should ask Xuanyuan Wentian about this. Since he knows all of Yun Che's secrets so clearly, he must also know many other things. From him, we should be able to directly determine whether that person was indeed the Little Demon Empress... However, whether it was her or not, we should be careful."

"Sigh..." Huangji Wuyu let out a long breath. "I've always prided myself on being invincible. Yet in just these past ten-odd days, first that red-clothed demoness appeared, and now someone with terrifying Golden Crow flame. It seems my several millennia of cultivation have indeed made me a frog in a well. Fortunately, she's not like that red-clothed demoness; if we gather the power of the Sacred Grounds, she's not unbeatable."

The Primordial Profound Ark did not go to the Illusory Demon Realm. Instead, guided by Yun Che's will, it traveled to Flowing Cloud City.

"This is Flowing Cloud City, Big Brother Yun's birthplace," Feng Xue'er introduced to the Little Demon Empress as she carried Yun Che out of the Primordial Profound Ark. Feng Xue'er had always been very curious about the Little Demon Empress, and now she finally saw her, albeit in her darkest emotional state. Her entire focus was on Yun Che; she didn't even spare the Little Demon Empress more than a few glances.

The Little Demon Empress's gaze swept lightly around. Immediately, Number One Under Heaven, sensing their aura, appeared in sight.

Upon suddenly seeing the Little Demon Empress, Number One Under Heaven's pupils contracted, and he was so startled he nearly fell from the sky. In his extreme shock and fear, he almost forgot how to fly, stumbling through the air until he reached the Little Demon Empress. "Number One Under Heaven respectfully greets the Little Demon..."

Before he could finish speaking, the strong scent of blood made his gaze subconsciously fall on Yun Che in Feng Xue'er's arms. In an instant, his face changed dramatically. Forgetting his manners toward the Little Demon Empress, he flashed forward, exclaiming, "Brother Yun! What happened to Brother Yun!? What happened!?"

"Brother Under Heaven," Feng Xue'er urged, "Quickly call Grandpa Xiao's family. Big Brother Yun will take us back to that place called the Illusory Demon Realm."

"Hurry!" the Little Demon Empress snapped.

"...I understand!" Number One Under Heaven stopped questioning and quickly flashed back to the Xiao Sect courtyard.

As Feng Xue'er descended from the sky with Yun Che, Number One Under Heaven also rushed out with Xiao Lie, Xiao Lingxi, and Xiao Yun and his wife.

"Little Che... Little Che!!" Seeing Yun Che's figure in Feng Xue'er's arms, Xiao Lingxi froze, then almost instantly her emotions collapsed, and she rushed forward, crying loudly.

"Don't come near him!" The Little Demon Empress waved her hand, and a strong gust of wind forcefully pushed Xiao Lingxi away. The Golden Crow flame on Yun Che, used to seal his remaining vitality, could not harm Feng Xue'er, but it was powerful enough to instantly kill Xiao Lingxi if she touched it.

"What happened... Who... Who injured Big Brother?" Xiao Yun's face was pale, his voice trembling.

"What exactly is going on?" Number Seven Under Heaven asked anxiously. "And... where is Big Brother Yun's master?"

"I don't know... I really don't know," Feng Xue'er said, shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't even see who injured Big Brother Yun; he suddenly just became like this..."

"Auntie Xue'er... don't cry..." Yun Che, still faintly conscious, made an incredibly weak sound. "Come with me... back... to... Illu..."

Yun Che's voice gradually weakened, then completely ceased. His eyes, which he had struggled to keep half-open, now closed powerlessly.

The Little Demon Empress's lips moved slightly. She saw that as Yun Che's consciousness faded, the Primordial Profound Ark, controlled by his will, also vanished from its spot.

"Little Che!!" Yun Che's silence made Xiao Lingxi's face turn even paler with fright. In the past, Yun Che had faced countless dangers, even false reports of his death, but she had only heard about them, never witnessed them directly. This time, however, she watched with her own eyes as Yun Che was covered in blood, his entire chest utterly mangled. She broke down, sobbing loudly: "Little Che... wake up, please wake up... I beg you, please don't be hurt..."

"Silence!!" A cold shout, filled with ice and majesty, instantly silenced Xiao Lingxi's weeping. The Little Demon Empress's face remained icy, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Her imperial aura made even the emperors of Demon Imperial City shiver with fear, let alone anyone else.

"Even if you cry yourself to death, it won't help his injuries one bit! Instead of crying, use that energy to think about how to save him." The Little Demon Empress's cold voice made the air in Flowing Cloud City almost freeze.

"I..." Xiao Lingxi bit her lip, trembling weakly.

Number Seven Under Heaven quickly supported Xiao Lingxi, gently comforting her: "Auntie Lingxi, she is the Little Demon Empress we often told you about. In the Illusory Demon Realm, she is like a deity to everyone, and she is also Big Brother Yun's wife, so she will definitely find a way. Moreover... I absolutely don't believe that Big Brother Yun, who could even defeat the terrifying Prince Huai, would just fall like this."

"We must return to the Illusory Demon Realm immediately." The Little Demon Empress looked straight ahead, as if talking to herself. Like Yun Che, the only hope she could think of was the Golden Crow Soul.

Xiao Yun irritably tugged at his scalp, then suddenly looked up and asked urgently, "Little Demon Empress, when you came to the Azure Cloud Continent, did you use the Void-Breaking Ring?"

As the former young master of the Yun family, Xiao Yun naturally knew about the Void-Breaking Ring. More than twenty years ago, Yun Qinghong and his wife relied on the Void-Breaking Ring to hide from the Four Sacred Grounds and descend into the Illusory Demon Realm.

"Yes," the Little Demon Empress nodded slightly. "But I was in a hurry to get here, so I only allowed the Yun family to infuse enough power for the journey, with no remaining energy for a return trip. I originally thought I could return via Yun Che's Profound Ark, but his Ark is clearly bound to his consciousness. When he's unconscious, outsiders cannot use it at all."

"Then... what should we do?" Feng Xue'er asked in a panic. Given Yun Che's injuries, every moment of delay meant losing a fraction of his last hope.

The Golden Crow flames floating around Yun Che relayed his physical condition back to the Little Demon Empress, making her clearly aware that every breath of life Yun Che managed to cling to, despite his terrifying injuries, was a miracle defying common sense.

In this state, maintaining even a last shred of life force was already a difficult miracle. To regain consciousness again before truly dying would be harder than ascending to heaven.

The Little Demon Empress stood there silently, her mind blank. All colors and sounds in the world drifted outside her consciousness. This state lasted for a long time before she finally spoke: "Where is there a place with an extremely concentrated and pure fire element, or ice element?"

"Um..." Xiao Yun frantically scratched his scalp, deep in thought. He had only been back in the Azure Cloud Continent for a short time and rarely left Flowing Cloud City, so his knowledge of the continent largely came from Yun Che's or Xiao Lie's accounts. This question was too difficult for him. After much deliberation, he stammered, "Places with active fire elements... should be volcanoes... but if it needs to be pure, then it's a bit..."

"I know a place!!" Feng Xue'er suddenly exclaimed. "In the Frozen Cloud Asgard, there's a Frozen Cloud Secret Realm. Big Brother Yun said that it's at the core of the Ice Cloud Snow Region's ley lines, the coldest place in the Blue Wind Nation, or even the entire Azure Cloud Continent."

The Little Demon Empress turned her head slightly, flicked her colorful sleeve, and a powerful gust of wind swept everyone into the air. "Tell me the direction immediately!!"