Chapter 1059 - The Worst Outcome
“Hahahaha!” Huo Rulie immediately laughed with his head high, “The bottom of the God Burying Inferno Prison? Did you knock your head when you’re asleep? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“Brother Yun, you must be joking… right?” Huo Poyun looked somewhat worriedly at Yun Che. What he said was something they wouldn’t believe even at death’s door but the look in his eyes really was very strange.
“Is this kid really the Snow Song Realm King’s direct disciple? Why does he look like a deranged person?” asked a Phoenix Sect elder while shaking his head.
“Haah,” Yan Wancang didn’t laugh. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh. “Yun Che, you are the direct disciple of Snow Song Realm King and you are not in the Snow Song Realm. You owe it to your sect and your master’s honor to choose your words and actions carefully! So how can you spout such nonsense knowing this, even going so far as to make that blood oath!... What are you waiting for? Withdraw your earlier oath already.”
Up until just now, Yan Wancang had held Yun Che in high praise not only because he possessed an elemental talent that exceeded Huo Poyun’s but also because he displayed a level of calmness that far exceeded his age. However, what he did just now was so unreasonable that it was as if his brain had suddenly turned to mush.
Yun Che said through clenched teeth, “How can I possibly joke about something like this!? Also, I am not lying about the two ancient horned dragons! I am my master’s direct disciple and I wouldn’t make such a blood oath unless it was the absolute truth! Please believe me, Sect Master Yan!”
“Enough!” Yan Wancang couldn’t stand this any longer. He frowned, “Yun Che, you should know that the Flame God Realm holds records regarding the ancient horned dragon from six hundred thousand years ago. We, the Flame God Realm have never stopped trying to track down the ancient horned dragon and we know everything there is to know about this creature! To this day, we have only ever seen one horned dragon in the God Burying Inferno Prison and there is absolutely zero chance that a second horned dragon exists. If there really is one, how could we have not noticed despite six hundred thousand years?”
“You have been at the Flame God Realm for less than three days. Do you really think you know better than the ancestors of the Flame God Realm who have spent six hundred thousand years researching the ancient horned dragon?”
Yun Che was just about to say something when Yan Wancang’s voice pressed down on him again, “But that’s okay. I can pretend that you just made a tasteless joke. But the God Burying Inferno Prison… do you really know how great the God Burying Inferno Prison is? It is a place that Sect Master Huo, Sect Master Yan and I can penetrate at most a few thousand meters with our mental energy, much less our physical body. As for the bottom of the Inferno Prison, it is a place no one has ever managed to venture to since the founding of the Flame God Realm. But you, a mere Divine Origin Realm disciple actually claim that you made it to this untouchable place…”
“The God Burying Inferno Prison is revered by all of the Flame God Realm as our source of divinity. It can only be challenged but never treated as a joke!”
“Hey!” Huo Rulie shot a fierce glare at Yan Juehai and muttered in dissatisfaction, “If you want to chide him at least make it short, you old tool. He’s not even born in the Flame God Realm, so why would he need to follow our rules?”
“Haah.” Yan Juehai shook his head.
After observing Yun Che’s expression for a moment, Yan Wancang suddenly said in a low tone, “It doesn’t look like he’s purposely spouting nonsense though. He’s probably affected by the Inferno Prison.”
Sudden understanding appeared on everyone’s faces when they heard this. Yan Juehai nodded, “It is true that the heat here is so great that it can easily damage and confuse one’s mind, much less a Snow Song disciple.”
“I am entirely clear headed, I am more clear headed than I have ever been in my life!” Yun Che said through gritted teeth. He was thinking with all his might a way to convince them that he was telling the truth.
Huo Rulie put an arm on his shoulder and said with a helpless look on his face, “Alright, alright, let us assume that what you say is true. Even if there is another horned dragon down there… oh, forget one, even if there are another two ancient horned dragons down there, they can hardly stop someone as powerful as your master from leaving safely, so just relax, okay? Puyun, why don’t you… take him away to get some rest, will you? The farther, the better.”
Huo Poyun was just about to say yes when Yun Che shouted, “It is not that simple! The fact that these two horned dragons managed to conceal themselves perfectly for six hundred thousand years even after one of them was hurt in the dragon fault proves just how deadly their patience and intelligence are! Therefore, this other horned dragon will only emerge at the best possible opportunity! My master has already used up most of her profound energy and if the other horned dragon were to attack her while she is completely defenseless… she will definitely suffer a grievous wound!”
“This is a trump card the two horned dragons will never use unless they literally have no other choice and the moment they do they will never give my master an opportunity to escape! If my master has to go all out just to deal with one ancient horned dragon and if she were to suffer a grievous wound at her currently depleted state, how can she possibly fight against two ancient horned dragons especially when one of them is still at full strength!?”
“Aaaaah, you kid.” Huo Rulie was close to blowing his top. If Yun Che hadn’t saved Huo Ye’s life, he would’ve lost his already miniscule patience and slapped the young man into unconsciousness, “If anything happens to your master I’ll pay you back with my life, alright!?”
No one believed him; no one would believe him even if he were to make another blood oath. Yun Che slapped Huo Rulie’s hand out of the way and rushed before Yan Wancang once more, “Sect Master Yan, you all can choose to think that I’m spouting nonsense and disbelieve my words. I won’t ask you to send a sound transmission to my master and tell her to escape but can you at least inform her of the possibility that another ancient horned dragon might be hiding in the Inferno Prison somewhere around her? Anything is fine as long as she’s alert… this is okay, right?”
“Impossible!” But Yan Wancang turned him down firmly without even thinking for a second, “The reason your master crushed her Sound Transmission Jade every time she fights against the horned dragon is because she’s afraid of any form of distraction during combat! If I were to send her a transmission now, she would absolutely be distracted!”
Yun Che said urgently, “My master now has all the advantage, while the ancient horned dragon is completely powerless. So what if the transmission did distract her? An instant of distraction can’t possibly affect the battle right now!”
“The distraction is hardly the only thing that’ll affect your master!” Yan Wancang forced himself to be patient, “If you master believes that there’s another horned dragon in the Inferno Prison, she will have to raise her guard consistently throughout the whole battle! Her opponent is an ancient horned dragon who has lived for at least hundreds of thousands of years and although it appears to be completely bloodied right now, none of its current wounds are serious enough to threaten its life! Worse, no one knows what kind of trump card the horned dragon still possesses, so it is entirely possible that your master may lose her advantage because she has to pay attention to something that doesn’t exist!”
“Do you know how long the Flame God Realm has toiled and waited for this day!? If your unreasonable tantrum were to destroy all of our efforts…” By now Yan Wangcang’s voice was incredibly severe, “The Flame God Realm won’t be the only party who won’t forgive your mistake! Your master too won’t forgive you after she learns of this!”
“Alright…” Yun Che’s lips were shaking. His fists were clenched so tight that they were crackling under pressure, “Then I’ll inform my master about this myself!”
Once he was done, he leaped into the air and charged straight toward the Inferno Prison.
“Yun Che!” Shocked, Huo Rulie reached out as quick as lightning and sent Yun Che falling to the ground next to him with overwhelming power. Then, Huo Rulie swiftly pinned him down while roaring, “Have you gone crazy!? With your puny body, you’ll be burned to literal nothing before you even got five hundred kilometers away from the battle site!”
“That’s still better than watching my master suffer a disaster while doing nothing!” Yun Che roared back.
“Yun Che!!” Yan Wancang let out a furious roar that shook everyone’s soul for a second. His eyebrows had sunk completely and his face was wrought with rare anger, “Do you know how important this horned dragon hunt is to the Flame God Realm? It’s not just some draconic treasure; it literally decides the future fate and status of our entire realm!”
“Now the hunt is just a fraction away from success and I will not allow any slip ups or accidents to happen no matter how miniscule they are!” Yan Wancang stared straight at Yun Che with sharp eyes, “If your master wasn’t the Snow Song Realm King, I would’ve killed you for your atrocious behavior during a momentous occasion like this! You either keep your mouth shut or… don’t blame me for being discourteous.”
Out of the three divine flames, the Vermillion Bird’s flame was considered to be the most gentle. As a result, Yan Wancang was also the most conservative and mild tempered cultivator out of all three sect masters. Even the elders of the Vermillion Bird Sect seldom saw him losing his temper. After all, the hunt of the horned dragon did involve far, far too much.
“...” Yun Che’s chest was heaving up and down fiercely but his eyes were slowly weakening under Yan Wancang’s stare. Even his voice had turned completely pitiful and begging, “Sect Master Yan, I may not have lived a long life but I seldom make oaths and beg even less… I swear again that nothing I said earlier is a lie or I will be punished by the heavens and die a horrible death! So I beg you, please send a sound transmission to my master… all I’m asking from you is to remind her to be on her guard, if just a little… please, Sect Master Yan. I owe a great debt to my master and if my master is saved, I, Yun Che, will never forget the kindness that you showed me today.”
“...” Yan Wancang turned around coldly and said nothing… Yun Che’s words didn’t move him at all.
“But. If something really does happen to my master…” His begging eyes turned ruthless and fierce in an instant and his voice turned hoarse, “Then I, Yun Che, will never let you go, Yan Wancang!!”
His words shocked everyone present.
“Absolutely disgraceful!” The great elder of the Vermillion Bird Sect scolded angrily before Yan Wancang could speak, “Who the hell do you think you are to call my sect master by his name? And how dare you threaten…”
“Shut up, shut up! You have no right to speak, you hear!” Huo Rulie shot him a fierce glare before wrinkling his eyebrows, “It looks like the heat has really gotten to his head. Just forget he ever said anything, Sect Master Yan. Poyun, get him to a cooler place quickly…”
Crack crack crack crack crack crack...
Suddenly, a deafening, freezing noise that nearly shattered everyone’s eardrums attracted everyone’s attention back to the Vermillion Bird projection.
A sheen of thick ice was spreading swiftly across the ancient horned dragon’s body. Despite the beast’s roars and struggles, the cracked ice kept reforming itself and grew thicker and thicker.
The ancient horned dragon’s furious roars and struggles kept weakening, however. This lasted until every part of its body was stuck in meters deep of ice. It could no longer break free.
“It’s… it’s sealed!!” Yan Juehai roared in mad pleasure.
Although Mu Xuanyin had tried many times before to freeze it in ice, the ancient horned dragon would shake it off every time. This was the first time she managed to seal it for real. Although it was impossible for a seal like this to last a long time, it still created the perfect opportunity to kill the horned dragon.
Mu Xuanyin closed her eyes and spread her arms slightly. The image of an ice phoenix began to dance soundless around her as a diamond shaped ice crystal swiftly expanded from the tip of her finger.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four breaths...
The ice encasing the ancient horned dragon was now completely covered in cracks but the diamond shaped ice at Mu Xuanyin’s fingertip had also become several meters long. It was glowing with a deep bluish light that none had seen before.
Even through the Vermillion Bird projection, the blue light made everyone felt like their vision was plunging soundless into an endless sea. Once through the sea, they continued to fall towards a bottomless ice abyss.
What was an attack that took a Divine Master four full breaths to gather with full concentration?
Even at its peak the beast would’ve been severely damaged by the attack if it was hit. And now...
The moment it breaks out of the ice might very well be the moment it dies!
The air seemed to have become frozen as everyone held their breaths. They were all staring fixedly at the Vermillion Bird projection and waiting for that dreamy moment to arrive… everyone, except Yun Che. His eyes looked like they would break under pressure but he wasn’t able to move despite his struggles beneath Huo Rulie.
Oh no… oh no! Run, master… Run!!
Bang!!
The ice holding the horned dragon abruptly exploded.
Just when the ice diamond at Mu Xuanyin’s fingertip was about to fire, the inferno less than thirty meters behind her suddenly burst open. A fiery figure abruptly slammed down toward Mu Xuanyin while bearing world shattering might and space destroying power.
Mu Xuanyin’s power was completely concentrated at her fingertip and her mind was fully focused on the horned dragon before her. She was completely defenseless and the unseen attack was too close to her… she had already been struck when she finally noticed it. Her mind turned completely white.
Boom—————
The inferno within a one-and-a-half kilometer radius from the battle site boiled into a sky scorching wave that was tens of thousands of meters tall.