Chapter 897: Heavenly Poison United

"Hong'er has another treat. Even I'm tempted by this sword."Yun Che caressed the Jade White Dragon Imperial Sword, which he had taken from Mu Yingchan. Its pristine white body gleamed like pure jade, exuding an incredibly rich True Dragon aura. He murmured a few words, placed the sword into the Sky Poison Pearl, and then descended.

For miles, ice had frozen everyone present from the three great sects, from Thrones to Monarchs. Not one of them could break free, and not even a sound could be uttered. Had it been the usual Yun Che, these people's bodies would have long since littered the ground, with no guarantee of even a complete corpse remaining. But now, those frozen were merely sealed, and not a single life was lost.

The bodies of Zuo Hanshuo, Duan Heisha, and Mu Yingchan were piled together. All three were in almost identical states—their eyes vacant, saliva drooling from their mouths. Their entire beings were like boneless piles of mud, with only their hands and feet occasionally twitching.

They were also not dead, but their profound energy, which once lorded over the entire Azure Cloud Continent, had been completely crippled. In other words, despite Yun Che's prolonged efforts today, not a single person died.

If the souls of those like the Burning Heaven Clan knew about this, they would surely jump out of the Nine Netherworlds, screaming: "Why!!"

They were among the culprits who forced Yun Che to his death back then. Had he not arrived today, Yun Gu would surely have perished. Moreover, the Seven Stars Divine Palace had harmed the entire Su clan and almost separated him and Su Ling'er once more—yet Yun Che didn't lay a hand to kill anyone.

All of this was solely because of Yun Gu. Not only could Yun Gu not condone killing, but Yun Che was certain that if he had killed them, his master would blame himself for their deaths. Afterwards, it might lead to a lifetime of unshakeable self-reproach and a heavy burden.

Since he couldn't kill them, he might as well let his master, Yun Gu, plead for their release. Perhaps, this could barely be considered something he did for him.

He summoned the Primordial Profound Ark, and Su Ling'er and Yun Gu stepped out together. The sight before them stunned them all.

"This..." Yun Gu looked around, his face rippling with emotion.

"Brother Yun Che, are you alright?" Su Ling'er rushed over, anxiously scanning him from head to toe. Only when she found not a single drop of blood on him did she breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

"Of course I'm fine; they're the ones with problems," Yun Che said, his face relaxed and carefree. He led Su Ling'er to Yun Gu, saying, "Senior, rest assured, these people are merely sealed by ice profound energy; none of them have died. As for these three leaders, I merely crippled their profound energy, so they can no longer commit evil in the future. Since they all came for you, Senior, how to deal with them is entirely up to you to decide."

Yun Gu gazed steadily at Yun Che for a moment, his eyes filled with deep doubt and complexity. Then, he shifted his gaze, looked at the three individuals at his feet, let out a soft sigh, and closed his eyes. "Let them go," he said.

It was an entirely unsurprising answer. Yun Che didn't immediately melt the ice, but instead added, "Let them all go? Senior, you should know that behind them are extremely powerful forces. You may be kind enough to let them leave alive, but they will certainly not let the matter rest. Before long, they will surely come back to trouble you again, perhaps with even more violent retaliation. Even so, do you still wish to let them leave?"

"And if you simply nod, I can immediately have them all die here, receiving their just retribution, without leaving any trace. Afterwards, no one will ever connect this matter to you. Perhaps even the secret of the Sky Poison Pearl being on you will remain unknown because of this."

Though those frozen could not move or speak, they could clearly hear the sounds outside. Yun Gu's words filled them with unexpected joy, while Yun Che's words sent their hearts plummeting, their eyes turning fearful and desperate.

"Alas," Yun Gu sighed slowly. "My lifelong mission has been to save lives; how can I allow so many lives to perish because of me? They were merely driven by greed; their crime does not warrant death. They have received their punishment now, so let them go."

Yun Gu declared their crime did not warrant death. But Yun Che thought: could these people truly be considered 'not deserving of death'?! The Heaven Punishing Sect, Seven Stars Divine Palace, and Flying Immortal Sword Sect—they are all at the top of the food chain in the Azure Cloud Continent, the formulators of the continent's rules. Some have lived for over a hundred years, others for more than a thousand; which of them doesn't have countless innocent blood on their hands?

Letting even one of them go, allowing them to live for another few hundred years, might result in hundreds or even more innocent people dying by their hands—equivalent to taking hundreds of lives.

Conversely, killing one might be equivalent to saving hundreds of innocent people.

Such profound reasoning—if it were someone else being so soft-hearted, he would lecture them. But facing Yun Gu, he couldn't voice it.

Moreover, with Yun Gu's experience and wisdom, it was hard to believe he genuinely hadn't considered these implications.

"Since that is your wish," Yun Che said with a slight smile. With a sweep of his finger, all the profound ice rapidly melted. The elders and disciples of the three sects, who had been sealed in ice for so long, regained their freedom, collapsing onto the ground. They huddled, their shoulders convulsing, trembling in the cold and fear, still somewhat disbelieving that their captors would truly let them go.

Yun Che glanced at them, saying coldly, "I originally intended to kill all of you, but Senior Medical Saint chose to repay resentment with virtue, willing to spare you. Since it is Senior Medical Saint's command, I will temporarily spare your lives today! Now get out!!"

The trembling crowd looked up, finally believing they could truly leave alive.

"Thank you, Senior Medical Saint, for your great kindness! Thank you, Seniors, for sparing our lives!" They cautiously dragged the three sect masters' mud-like bodies, then frantically fled in three directions. Their speed increased as their bodies recovered, fearing that the terrifying harbinger of death behind them would change his mind.

"My young friend, I have no way to repay your great kindness today for saving my life. I will certainly be grateful for it in this lifetime," Yun Gu said gratefully, bowing deeply to Yun Che and Su Ling'er.

"I—!" Yun Che swiftly flashed away with Su Ling'er, like lightning, managing to make Yun Gu's bow fall empty. Sweat poured from the back of Yun Che's head, and his words became somewhat of a stammer: "Master... No, no, no, Senior, absolutely not. How could a junior like me accept such a grand bow from you? You are the Medical Saint of this age; it is my honor to be of any assistance to you."

"This..." Yun Che's strange behavior left Yun Gu slightly stunned, then he sighed. "My young friend possesses astonishing profound energy, yet his character is so pure and kind; it is truly a great blessing in this world. What you saved today was not merely this old man's insignificant life. If the Sky Poison Pearl had fallen into the hands of these greedy individuals, who knows how many innocent people would have suffered the calamity of the Sky Poison."

Yun Che's heart stirred, and he seized the opportunity to ask, "Senior Medical Saint, what exactly is this Sky Poison Pearl you speak of?"

Seeing the deep confusion in Yun Che's eyes, Yun Gu said, "It seems my young friend truly doesn't know. This Sky Poison Pearl first appeared approximately four years ago. It was said to have been discovered by a merchant family in Phantasm City, Zhu Zhen Nation, in the south..."

When Yun Gu uttered the name "Phantasm City, Zhu Zhen Nation," Yun Che's entire body stiffened abruptly, and Su Ling'er's hands tightly gripped Yun Che's arm.

Phantasm City, Zhu Zhen Nation—it was one of the cities he had eradicated with the Sky Poison Pearl back then. The entire city, a full 1.7 million people, and all living things, had died under the Sky Poison!

Solely because Phantasm City contained two massive sects that he loathed to the bone, yet were too powerful for him to contend with.

That was the greatest blood debt of his two lives.

It was also that time that the Sky Poison Pearl's poison energy was completely exhausted, unable to release even a trace of poison power ever since.

"The family who found it simply treated it as a pretty bead and kept it in their home. Unexpectedly, a few days later, green light suddenly emanated from their house. When people discovered it, all dozen-plus family members had perished, all dying from an unprecedented potent poison."

"Thereafter, every time the Sky Poison Pearl appeared, it would trigger a poison disaster, and these disasters grew increasingly terrifying. Yet, because of this, its poison power began to be coveted by those with ulterior motives, who wanted to use its venom for themselves. After the Startling Swan Villa of the Southern Heaven Nation obtained the Sky Poison Pearl by chance, they harbored such thoughts and consequently brought great calamity upon themselves—what a large sect, alas."

"Brother Yun Che, that Sky Poison Pearl... could it be...?" Su Ling'er whispered.

Yun Che remained silent.

Yun Gu didn't notice the unusual expressions on Yun Che and Su Ling'er's faces and continued, "I personally obtained the Sky Poison Pearl from the Startling Swan Villa a few months ago, only then realizing its horror far surpassed rumors. Moreover, I have a feeling that its current poison power has only just awakened. If its poison power were to fully recover, I truly don't know..."

Yun Gu's voice suddenly paused, and then his expression drastically changed.

Yun Che also started, exclaiming, "Senior Medical Saint!?"

"How can this be? It clearly already..." Yun Gu suddenly looked up, shouting loudly, "Go! Hurry and go!!"

"Senior, what's going on?" Yun Che wouldn't leave; instead, he stepped forward.

"It's the Sky Poison Pearl! Its poison power suddenly shows signs of being out of control! Hurry, leave now, or it will be too late!" Yun Gu said with even greater urgency.

Yun Che quickly shielded Su Ling'er behind him, then rushed a few steps to Yun Gu's front, saying with utmost seriousness, "Senior, quickly take out the Sky Poison Pearl. This junior happens to have a special detoxification ability; perhaps I can help Senior control the potent poison. Trust this junior!"

Given Yun Gu's character, how could he let innocent people be in danger with him? He was about to speak again to persuade them to leave, but remembering Yun Che's astonishingly powerful profound energy, Yun Gu finally gritted his teeth and took out the Sky Poison Pearl.

A dark green spherical bead appeared before Yun Che, emitting a somewhat agitated green light.

As this dark green poison light shone into Yun Che's pupils, a sense of soul connection rapidly blossomed in his heart.

"This feeling..."

"This old man thought he had controlled it, that it wouldn't lose control again for a year, but never expected..." The agitated green poison light filled Yun Gu with anxiety. "It seems this old man ultimately overestimated himself. Hmm!?"

To Yun Gu's astonishment, the Sky Poison Pearl in his hand suddenly flew up on its own, shooting directly towards Yun Che. Yun Che didn't dodge; he watched it approach in a daze, until it flew to his chest.

"My young friend!" Yun Gu instinctively reached out, about to warn him, but then suddenly discovered that the Sky Poison Pearl flashed with light and, like a stone dropping into water, melted into Yun Che's body, completely disappearing.

A faint green radiance instantly flickered across Yun Che's entire body, but it vanished in an instant. Yun Che slowly raised his hands.

His left hand glowed with a familiar jade-green light, which was also the light of purification.

And his right hand also lit up with a dark green radiance.The light of potent poison!!